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CAPTAIN JINKS 


The Autobiography of a Shetland Pony 






WORKS OF 

FRANCES HODGES WHITE 

Captain Jinks $1.50 

Helena’s Wonderworld .50 
Aunt Nabby’s Children .50 

-*S6i- 

L. C. PAGE & COMPANY 

^ NEW ENGLAND BUILDING, BOSTON, MASS. 


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She saw Boo on the sandy rsith 
his wet hair hanging in his eyes ” 

(See page 27) 


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Captain f mfesi 

Eftt ot a 

Siftetlanir 



BY 

^Trances floligts 

Author of “ Helena’s Wonderland,” “Aunt 
Nabby’s Children,” etc. 


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ILLUSTRATED BY 


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Copyright^ igog 
By L. C. Page & Company 

(incorporated) 


All rights reserved 


First Impression, July, igog 



Electrolysed and Printed at 
THE COLONIAL PRESS: 
C. H . Simonds <5r* Co , Boston, U.S.A, 

/ , 

CU.A, 243 734 
]UL 16 1909 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGE 

“ She saw Boo on the sand, with his wet hair hanging 

IN his eyes ” {See page 27 ) .... Frontispiece 
“ I sent poor Boo flying over it, splash into the 

WATERING TROUGH ” 

“ ‘ Up, Razzle, up, I tell you ^ ” 

“ The noble beast . . . sprang forward into the 

waters of the creek ” 

“ They waited till I went and rolled it back again ” 

“ There came rushing towards mb a huge yellow 

THING THAT SEEMED TO BE ALIVE ” . 

“ Down came a whip, swish! swish! across my back ” 

“ He did not move, but lay so still we all thought 

HE WAS DEAD ” 

Just at that moment, the door opened ” 

“ He would ride me . . . into the edge of the great 

BREAKERS ” 

“ Then Peter took the bundle up in his arms and 

THEY STOLE AWAY ” 

“ She pounded against the shed door as if she wanted 

TO PUNISH IT FOR SOMETHING ” 




44 V 

90 

112 ^ 
125 

168 
186 ' 

200 

220 ^ 

228 ^ 

265 '^ 

285 ^ 
















CAPTAIN JINKS 

The Autobiography of a Shetland Pony 
CHAPTER I 

My name is Captain Jinks, though I am 
only a little Shetland pony who has been 
asked to give the story of his life to the 
world. Please let me talk to you in my own 
language, and listen if you will, without 
criticism; for indeed, since you have never 
entered into a pony’s life, or heard one 
speak, how can you rightly judge what 
thoughts have been mine, or what words 
I should use in which to clothe them. But 
here is my story. 

In the Southern Wisconsin Valley, there 
is a farm called Helendale. Across its 
broad level fields, when the harvest time 
is near, a sea of pale golden grain, surging 
and blending with the fragrant clover and 

alfalfa blossoms, lays on the morning breeze 
1 


2 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


the sweetest odours that ever tempted a 
pony to jump the fence and help himself. 

But in the spring, when a delicious turfy 
smeU puts new life into a pony’s heels, 
then the ground is covered with a soft 
green carpet which invites us to gallop 
from creek to river, from knoll to hollow, 
just to nibble the brightest tufts of grass. 

I have said that the fields of Helendale 
are level, and so they are, saving that part 
of them at the rear of the farm house, 
where a gradual rise joining the pasture 
land, continues on and up till the summit 
of a great hill is reached. 

If you were to stand on this hill, facing 
the place where the sun gets up in the 
morning, you would see, sparkling and 
winding its crooked way along the foot of 
a steep embankment, the waters of the 
Rock River. 

During the heat of my first smnmer, it 
was here that most of my days were spent; 
where the cool clear water refreshed me, 
and the shade of overhanging willows pro- 
tected me from the sim. 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


3 


I do not know how old I was when I 
first began to realize my surroundings; 
you see many things may happen in a 
pony’s life too early for him to remember. 
But I suppose I had travelled aroimd the 
pasture on my wabbly legs for weeks or 
months before the particular day came, 
when I seemed to awaken as from a dream. 

High on the crest of the hill overlooking 
the river, there stands a low wooden shed 
that in days gone by was used for a sum- 
mer camp; but which has since served the 
purpose of shelter, for horses in the pas- 
ture. Above this shed, stretching out its 
giant arms, and tapping softly on the roof 
with its green branches, there stands a 
tree large enough to be grandfather to aU 
the western willows. It was one of my 
early fancies that this great old tree had 
grown here to take care of the shed, just 
as the shed cared for me— by keeping me 
warm and dry when it stormed. 

Often on summer days when the sun 
looked down with hot eyes, burning me so 
there was no comfort playing in the open, 


4 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


I was glad to creep into the cool dark shed, 
where I usually fell asleep. 

On one of these days I must have slept 
long and soundly, for it was late in the 
afternoon when voices outside my door 
awakened me. I had never understood 
speech before, but now for some unac- 
countable reason, the meaning of every 
word was clear. I knew also that the 
words were spoken by Razzle and Dazzle, 
two ponies who were often turned into my 
pasture, for days at a time. It was Dazzle 
speaking first: 

“ I wonder where Captain Jinks is? He 
hasn’t shown himself since we came to- 
day. I don’t think he seems overjoyed to 
see us, do you? ” Then I recognized Raz- 
zle ’s gentle voice saying: 

“ Cap is young you must remember, per- 
haps he is back in the pasture sleeping, 
and does not know we are here.” 

“ Well, I am glad you can find excuses 
for him, he needs them! I wonder if his 
legs will ever stop growing? I think he 
is the most awkward animal I ever saw! 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


5 


Strange, too, that he should be so, when 
his mother was such a beauty/’ 

The voices ceased and I heard the ponies 
cropping the grass back of the shed, while 
I lay quivering and trying to understand 
the strange emotions they had stirred 
within me. So far as I knew I had never 
before heard the name of Captain Jinks, 
yet I was sure now that it referred to me. 
Then again, though I had neither knowl- 
edge nor memory of my mother, the word 
had stirred a longing not easily soothed. 
I began to realize then for the first time, 
what I had lost by never having known 
my mother. But Dazzle was talking and 
I must listen: 

I wonder why Uncle Toby ever sold 
old Jess, do you know? ” 

I think he sold her because he could 
not afford to keep her. You see she was 
the finest Shetland in Wisconsin to look 
at, and when Captain Jinks was a baby, 
she brought Uncle Toby a siun of money 
so large that he felt obliged to let her go.” 

Well, it is a pity he had to sell her, 


6 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


because this long-legged Jinks needs ber 
badly enough for an example. But we will 
forgive his looks if he will only try to be 
better natured than his mother was.’’ 

I have since been told that some persons 
believe animals have neither soul nor rea- 
soning powers. When we do a thing which 
attracts their attention to any train of 
thought on our part, they call it instinct. 
But what is instinct, I would like to ask? 
If it is the great power God has given us 
of knowing things we have never seen, 
things no one has ever spoken to us; and 
knowing them for a certainty, till our 
hearts quake with fear at the approach of 
unseen danger, or sing while We gallop 
away over field and pasture, just for the 
simple joy of living; then it seems to me 
that instinct is more precious than com- 
mon thinking— for by instinct we know, 
and by thought we only think. 

So, even though the process of instinct 
was now being bom within me, it was by 
instinct that I realized what the word, 
mother, meant; and it was instinct also 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


7 


causing me to feel so hot and trembling 
over Dazzle’s last remark. I believe while 
a pony is small and yearning for his moth- 
er’s care, that he resents any bad thing 
said against her quite as much as a man 
would, if it were said about his mother. 
Then there was something in the way Daz- 
zle said Jinks,” that made my blood leap 
through my veins. For some other voice 
had spoken the name to me in such a gen- 
tle loving tone, that I could not bear to 
hear it, save in the old familiar way. Yet 
I did not know where I had heard the 
name, or by whom it had been spoken. 

But I was angry now, so galloping fast 
around the shed with my head and tail in 
the air, I gave the crossest neigh I could 
possibly make, and stopped short in front 
of Dazzle, saying: 

Well, you see I am here after all, and 
I heard every word you said! It seems to 
me you are rather familiar on short ac- 
quaintance, saying unkind things of my 
mother, and calling me ‘ Jinks.’ That is 
a name no one has ever spoken, excepting 


8 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


the kind voice that sometimes comes to 
me, and I love so much to hear. I wish 
you would be more careful next time you 
talk about your betters.’’ 

At this Dazzle laughed scornfully and 
replied: 

It has often been said that listeners 
never hear any good of themselves. So in 
the future please bear in mind that you 
have proven the truth of the saying— and 
don’t listen! ” 

While he was speaking, Razzle came for- 
ward, and laying her face against mine, 
she said lovingly: 

I am very sorry to have hurt you. Cap- 
pie. We did not know you were near. 
But if you will forgive us, I will promise 
it shall never happen again.” 

Then somehow all the anger went out 
of me, and I became as happy as I had 
been miserable. There was too much love 
and gentleness in Razzle, for even the 
crossest pony to resist. 

Razzle and Dazzle were brother and sis- 
ter, and though I did not then know it. 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


9 


they shared the same famous Shetland 
father with me. But their mother had 
Mustang blood in her, so they were much 
larger than I could ever be. 

Besides our father, there was another 
mutual blessing which we prized far more, 
and this was our beloved master. Uncle 
Toby. I did not know him at first, but 
while Razzle continued to lay her head 
lovingly against mine, she closed her eyes 
as though the act of kindness made her 
happy, and said: 

“ You have not yet seen Uncle Toby, 
have you? He came out to visit the chil- 
dren, and to give us a breath of freedom 
in the pasture. You know there is no 
place in town where we can run.” 

It all grew clear to me while she was 
speaking. That big gentle presence who 
had petted and patted me from time to 
time, together with the voice which had 
said “ Jinks ” in such a kind way, made 
a master. That master was Uncle Toby, 
and he belonged to Razzle and Dazzle and 


me. 


10 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


Razzle was a stone-grey pony, two- 
thirds as large as a horse; and the soft 
white spots that had been left all over her, 
looked like bits of fleece which the lambs 
hang on the bare bushes in the fall. Her 
tail was long and matched the creamy 
spots, just as did the thick mane, that 
waved over her eyes, and hung all about 
her neck. 

Her body was round and prettily curved, 
her hoofs small and so delicately tinted, 
that they always reminded me of the shells 
my little mistress used to make her mud 
pies in. But beautiful as her body was 
it was her face which one most wanted to 
look at. I wonder why I forgot everything 
but her eyes when once I looked into 
them? 

They had nothing of the vicious Mus- 
tang glance, but were soft and large and 
loving, and every time she turned her head, 
a ray of gold shot through the dark of 
them. In after years when I lived by the 
sea, I have seen the sim light a dark wave, 
just as those spots lighted Razzle ’s eyes, 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


11 


—only the eyes always warmed my heart, 
while the waves made it cold. She had 
inherited her short pretty face from her 
Shetland blood, and her curved nostrils 
were so proudly distended, that one knew 
at a glance she was too high bred, and yet 
too gentle for any wicked act. 

As for Dazzle, he was grey like Razzle, 
with the same woolly spots, only the grey 
was greyer, and the spots more woolly, and 
his coat so fine he shone like silk. His face 
was longer, his eyes smaller, and without 
the gold lights, and his mane and tail not 
nearly so long or waving. Yet they were 
a fairly matched pair, and looked as much 
alike as it was possible for glass to look 
like a diamond. For one was false, and 
the other true. 


CHAPTER n 


Of what followed on the day just de- 
scribed, I cannot remember, for I grew 
tired after a while, and leaving Razzle and 
Dazzle grazing by the river, I returned to 
the shed where I slept till the loud cluck- 
ing of a hen, whose brood had wandered 
beyond the pasture fence, told me that, if 
she were putting her babies to bed, it was 
time for me to be thinking about the nice, 
bran supper, which the kind presence al- 
ways brought to me, when near. 

I was standing under the willow, won- 
dering what it would seem like to see my 
master again, now that I knew who he 
was, when I saw him coming across the 
pasture towards me. I was so full of joy 
and curiosity, that I cantered away to 
meet him as fast as I could go; and when 
I had eaten the welcome supper, I looked 
12 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


13 


into his face and laid my head on his arm. 
Yes, this was Uncle Toby! The same kind 
face, the same great warm hand, as pat- 
ting my flanks and running his fingers 
through my mane he said: 

Why, Jinks, you really are getting a 
mane and tail. I wouldn’t wonder if you’d 
be quite a critter after all! ” 

What delight for a pony, after the doubt- 
ful compliments from Dazzle. Quite a 
critter after all! ” Then as he spoke, I 
looked up at his face long and gratefully, 
and something passed into my life that has 
never wholly passed out again:— an undy- 
ing faith in man, a sweet trust that God 
had committed me to his care, to serve him 
as best I could, and to love him. 

It was an untold blessing for a pony to 
have his first conscious hours filled with 
thoughts of a master like mine. I remem- 
ber just how he looked at me in that soft 
spring twilight. We were alone, for the 
sheep, afraid of being penned, had scam- 
pered away to the grove at his approach; 
and the mother-hen, brooding where she 


14 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


had stood, hid every fluffy chicken from 
our sight. Razzle and Dazzle both neighed 
loudly at sound of the master’s voice, 
but they kept to their grazing; and then 
just as my heart was beating faster and 
faster, though I knew not why, and my 
very muscles were quivering with joy, a 
moment of silence seemed to fall over the 
world, and in that moment I began to 
live. 

A great hawk swooped down from some- 
where out of the sky, with the hungry cry 
of chicken, chicken,” which the mother- 
hen answered by a terrified squawk; and 
a bird in a low branch of the big willow 
sent out a lonely call that sounded like 

Phoebe; ” and I wondered how all these 
unhappy things existed in such a world of 
brightness, for was not the master here, 
and could not he make all their troubles 
right? 

Then as I continued to look at him, and 
to wonder, I suddenly began to realize that 
he was very tall, so tall that his head came 
to the eaves of our shed, and all over his 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


15 


face there was a glow, which I thought 
then was reflected from the place the sun 
had left in the sky, when he said good- 
night. But I was mistaken, for after this, 
on many a rainy day, when it was so dark 
the sun forgot to get up. Uncle Toby’s face 
brought light whenever he came to see us. 
Perhaps you will better understand how 
he looked if I tell you that I once heard 
a stranger say as he watched him out of 
sight: 

Uncle Toby looks just as I think an 
old general should, erect, commanding, and 
at the same time so big-hearted that never 
a soldier would fear to approach him.” 

When I noticed the same gentle look in 
his blue eyes that I had seen in Razzle’s, 
I could not help wondering if love and 
kindness were catching, for if they were 
I meant to try very hard to get them. 
I have learned since that they are, and 
when we are surrounded by them, we 
never have to try to catch them, for they 
come to us before we realize it. Though 
when we are not exposed to them, it is 


16 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


quite different, for try as hard as we 
may, sometimes, they will not come near 

US. 

Besides the love in Uncle Toby’s eyes, 
there was another thing which I think 
must have been a laugh, for whenever he 
smiled, which was often, that twinkling 
brightness grew brighter, till it seemed to 
dance out of his eyes, and get into every- 
thing, and everybody around him. Even 
his stubbed grey hair, that stood straight 
lil^e quills on top of his head, had yielded 
at one point, where a stray lock seemed to 
have jumped the bars, and sprawling limp 
but happily down over his forehead, 
pointed the way to the funny, drooping 
lines of his mouth, and the merry twinkle 
in his eyes. 

It took me a long time to realize all 
these things about my master, and I tell 
them to you because I want you to see how 
perfect he was to me, and why he had such 
a peaceful influence over us all. I learned 
afterward that he lived in town, where he 
kept Razzle and Dazzle for his own use; 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


17 


but bis sheep and cattle lived at Helendale, 
which was his, too. 

When the light had faded from the sky 
and Uncle Toby could be seen no more, I 
stood still for some time, watching the 
door of the little farm house, which had 
shut him away from us. I don’t know just 
why I did this, but I seemed rooted to the 
spot; and a feeling of loneliness came over 
me, mingled with a sneaking hope that the 
door might open again and let Uncle Toby 
out with another dish of bran. But that 
door had not one spark of sympathy for a 
poor little pony, shut out into the night. It 
just kept on showing me its dark red panels, 
till all hope of bran died from my heart, 
and only the loneliness was left. Then sud- 
denly Eazzle whinnied loudly fr^m across 
the pasture, and told me it was time that 
all small ponies were asleep. 

I must have slept late the next morning, 
for when I awoke, the ripples on the river 
danced in sunlight that seemed to come 
from overhead. I could see them through 
the door, and just as I began to think what 


18 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


a lazy pony I was, and of how many morn- 
ing pleasures I had missed, I heard a 
sound as of some one brushing against the 
outer wall of my shed. I looked in the 
direction whence it came, and I saw a big 
blue eye peeping through a knot-hole in 
a board. It was so low down that I 
thought it either belonged to a very little 
man, or else he was stooping to meet the 
hole. 

But I had not long to wonder, for when 
the eye saw me looking at it, it took itself 
away, and then there followed such a scur- 
rying of feet that I imagined the sheep 
were coming back to the river to drink. 
But no, for just as I stepped out of the 
shed, the dearest, tiniest man ran up to me 
and threw both arms around my neck, 
kissing my face all over, and hugging me 
till I could hardly breathe. 

At first I did not know whether to be 
glad or mad; but presently he gave me a 
chance to get a breath, and then I saw 
him. After this there was never a ques- 
tion in my mind of madness or gladness, 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


19 


for wherever he was, there I found my 
greatest joy. 

Like the master he proved to be no 
stranger to me, for I had often seen him 
without realizing who he was. But I knew 
now that he was Boo, a very dear little 
boy, who called Uncle Toby Grand- 
father.’’ 

The years gone by since that day, have 
brought many changes to Boo and me, but 
I would gladly give all my remaining days, 
to see him again as he looked on that 
bright summer morning, with the sun 
shining on his long curls, which were just 
the colour of the mother-hen’s fluffy ba- 
bies; only a hundred times flner, and more 
glossy. He wore no cap, and his feet and 
legs were bare, as also were his little 
brown arms and neck; for his blue blouse 
had neither collar nor sleeves, and the only 
purpose it seemed to serve was to keep the 
sun from his shoulders, and to match his 
eyes, that were like the river, and the sky, 
at noon,— and reminded me of the sweet 
berries I loved to eat from the bushes. 


20 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


back in the pasture: they were so soft to 
look into, with such deep dark lights be- 
hind the paler blue. There was the same 
laugh in his eyes that danced out of Uncle 
Toby’s, and already it was getting into 
me, for I began to kick up my heels, 
just to let him see I was spoiling for a 
frolic. 

Boo had inherited the stately head and 
shoulders from his grandfather, and when 
he stood watching my antics now, he 
looked like a little general, though he 
could not deceive me with his soldier’s 
airs. I knew there was something simmer- 
ing inside him that constantly bubbled 
over, keeping him busy every minute with 
a new piece of mischief, and that he would 
not watch me very long without joining in 
the play. 

,What happened afterward proved I was 
not wrong, for he seemed to make up his 
mind suddenly, as to what should bubble 
over next, when, after rolling his big eyes 
around, to see that no one was near, he 
whispered in my ear; 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


21 


Come on, Cap, let’s go down to the 
river and have some fun.” 

I needed no second invitation, especially 
as I was thirsty and hungry. The grass 
was always extra sweet, and tender, by 
the river, so when Boo gathered up my 
forelock in his little hands, we galloped 
helter-skelter down the bank, where he led 
the way to a fallen tree by the water’s 
edge. I was glad when he let go of my 
mane, for I had been so afraid of stepping 
on his tiny, mud-stained toes. 

But now I was free again, and after 
taking a drink from the cool, clear water, 
I fell to nibbling the grass, while Boo 
played by himself, throwing sticks and 
pebbles into the river, and building forts 
in the sand. Sometimes I stopped feeding 
to watch the sunshine in his hair, or the 
soft pink, that broke through the tan on 
his cheeks— and oh! how I loved him. 

It seems to me I have always loved 
beautiful persons, more than plain ones. 
Why, master has often told me it wasn’t 
my fault because I was handsome, but I 


22 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


must try to live up to my looks, by making 
my life mate my beauty. So it seems to 
me a handsome man or woman must feel, 
and this is why it is easier to love them. 
I think I have never known an animal who 
did not love beauty just as I do, till some 
sweet face has deceived him. 

But Boo and I were thinking little about 
beauty to-day, for he was too busy with his 
play, while I could scarcely get beyond the 
thought of how much I loved him, and 
Uncle Toby, and of how many happy things 
were coming into my life the last few 
hours. Just as I had finished my break- 
fast, and was wondering if I had better 
join Boo at the river, I became conscious 
that the soft splashing of pebbles in the 
water had ceased, and I saw he was com- 
ing up the bank towards me. A new mis- 
chief had begun to simmer, and he wanted 
a partner, so throwing his arms around my 
neck, and springing up till his feet, clear- 
ing the ground, brought his whole weight 
upon me, he whispered in my ear: 

Say Cap, let’s you and ^ me get into 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


23 


the brook. Ma doesn’t allow me to, but 
it’s fun,” and then he led me back to the 
water’s edge. 

A dead limb of the fallen tree, heavy 
with moss, and broken bark, was stretch- 
ing a grey arm far out over the river, and 
on this I saw Boo trying to climb. The 
holes in his cheeks were growing deeper, 
and the dark in his eyes was so bright it 
covered all the light, as, balancing himself 
on the limb, he turned to me and said: 

Oh! Cap, I feel so movey in here,” 
putting his hand over the lower part of 
his little blue blouse, and I guess it’s 
just the happiness of playing in the 
water.” 

He had scarcely finished the words when 
the limb under his feet began to tip and 
tremble, and that strange thing we have 
called instinct ” began to tremble in me. 
What was happening? I could not tell, 
yet I was filled with a fear which presently 
became so strong, that I ran half way up 
the bank, neighing as loudly as ever I 
could, but there was no reply. Scarcely 


24 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


knowing what I did, I ran back again, just 
in time to see the dead limb quiver and 
bend, till it broke with a horrible crash 
and fell into the river, bearing my little 
master with it. I saw the bright ripples 
part, showing a deep dark hole under- 
neath, and into this, with a scream of ter- 
ror, Boo’s shining head disappeared. Then 
some great black rings that floated rapidly 
away from the hole, stopped floating, and 
the sunbeams began to dance over it again, 
and Boo was gone. 

It was then I first learned to know the 
fear which has never wholly left me since, 
and against which I have struggled all 
my life. I was too frightened to think or 
move. But before I could have turned 
around, or even decided what to do, a 
great black and white animal came tearing 
down the hill, and with a wild bark 
plunged into the water, and was swallowed 
down in exactly the same hole that had 
taken Boo. 

Now surely a double sorrow had come to 
Uncle Toby, for somehow I realized this 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


25 


was Billy, his favourite dog, and that 
water could drown. But no, for I had 
time to think just this much, when there 
was a sound of splashing and spluttering, 
and I saw to my great joy that Billy was 
pulling Boo ashore. Before I could wink 
hardly, they were both beside me on the 
sand. 

Boo looked white and frightened, but 
the water did not even hurt him, the res- 
cue had been so quick. I tried to get near 
and comfort him, but Billy was lapping 
the water from his hair and face, and Boo 
was laughing through his tears. 

Then when another great love came 
thrilling through my heart I knew it was 
for Billy. How could I help it? 


CHAPTER in 


After Billy saw that Boo was not hurt, 
but was laughing at his troubles, he sud- 
denly remembered that his own work was 
not done. It was as if he knew that Boo^s 
clothes were clinging to him heavy and 
wet, and there was danger of his taking 
cold; for after coming close to me and 
shaking himself violently, till the water 
from his long hair spattered all over my 
white coat, he looked into my face with 
a half smile and said; 

I beg your pardon, I forgot you are 
careful of your clean dress, I was only 
thinking of Boo. I must get Buntie down 
here to him somehow,’’ then he ran to- 
ward the house barking madly all the 
way. 

He had said: I must get Buntie down 
to him.” Now who was she and had I 
26 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


27 


seen her? Why surely, she was the little 
mistress who was always making mud pies 
by the river, and leaving them in pale 
tinted shells to be baked by the sun. 

Here she was now, following Billy 
across the pasture at breakneck speed, for 
he had made her understand something 
was wrong. I think she had not seen me 
recently, for she paused just a minute to 
look at me, saying as she did so: 

YouVe grown perfectly beautiful. Cap, 
while IVe been gone.’^ 

Then she saw Boo on the sand, with his 
wet hair hanging in his eyes, and Billy 
kept running from one to the other, and 
barking, till she stooped to gather her 
baby brother in her arms. She looked 
down upon him with such a little-mother 
smile, never seeming to fear his wet 
clothes would soil her pretty white dress, 
and he looked so foolish and bedraggled, 
that I shall not soon forget the picture. 
Buntie’s hair was hanging below her waist 
in heavy dark waves, and her hat, hung 
from her neck by a ribbon, was covered 


28 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


with great red poppies like those by the 
farm house door; and some of them had 
their eyes half shut, just as I have no- 
ticed they often do, when it gets dark at 
night. 

But Buntie’s eyes were not half shut, 
indeed they were very wide awake, and 
as she glanced up to me, I was sure that 
they had borrowed a bit of the blue from 
Boo’s eyes, and some of the brightest 
brown from Razzle’s, and mixed them to- 
gether, and it all depended upon how you 
looked at her, which colour you saw the 
most of. I have given up long ago, trying 
to decide just how she got those eyes, 
for I have never seen another pair like 
them. And now as she sat there cuddling 
Boo, looking down upon him, the long 
black lashes that brushed the dark lines 
under her eyes, seemed to shade them 
darker still, making her pale face look 
very delicate, beside the red tan of his. 

She was all tenderness at first, till she 
saw how wet Billy’s hair was, when she 
seemed to conclude they had been playing 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


29 


in the water together. Then she said 
loudly: 

“ Go away, Billy, you are a naughty dog. 
No doubt you teased Boo to throw sticks 
in the river, for you to run after.’’ 

Poor Billy crouched at her feet, looking 
up at her with the saddest eyes I had ever 
seen. Oh! if only I could have spoken 
then,— it seemed so cruel to scold him for 
his brave deed. 

But Boo, after swallowing something 
that seemed to choke him, came to the 
rescue, by throwing his arms around 
Billy’s neck, and crying out: 

Please, Sister, don’t be cross to him. 
He is wet because he pulled me out of the 
river, from away over beyond the big 
limb.” 

The sudden changing of Buntie’s face 
was a wonder to me. First it grew paler, 
and then it got red, as she clung to Billy, 
hugging and kissing him. Then Boo was 
talking fast and loud, and Billy was bark- 
ing happily, when they all passed into the 
house, leaving me once more standing out 


30 CAPTAIN JINKS 

alone, with that old red door closed be- 
tween us. 

I stood watching it for a while with a 
very disagreeable feeling moving inside 
me. I tbink it must have been a hate 
thought, for I have noticed since, that it 
never comes to me without leaving me 
like an old horse, that had worked till his 
legs, all quivering under him, were scarcely 
able to hold him up. I believe hate 
thoughts make me feel weaker than being 
afraid, and Eazzle says I must not let 
them get into me. 

However this may be, after Buntie closed 
that door in my face, I hated it, till some- 
thing came floating out through the open 
window, driving away the hate, and ma- 
king me draw long breaths through my 
nostrils, with my eyes closed. It seemed 
as if I never could get fllled with that 
smell, it made me so hungry. But now, 
oh joy! I saw that hateful door opening, 
and Buntie ’s mother placing a bright tin 
dish just inside it on a table, and I heard 
her say: 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


31 


‘‘You may have a doughnut, Boo, as 
soon as they are cooled; but you don’t 
deserve one, for I have told you over and 
again to keep away from the river.” 

“You may have a doughnut.” The 
words were like the song of birds in my 
ears, for I knew they had something to 
do with that delicious smell. So I walked 
very quietly up to the door, and when I 
pushed my nose against it, I was delighted 
to find that it swung wide open, and I 
could climb on the upper step with my 
fore feet. Yes, sure enough, there they 
were, those pretty round somethings, that 
were filled in the middle with little round 
nothings, and I put my nose as close to 
them as I dared. 

Now all my life I have been thankful 
for what happened at this my first tempta- 
tion. For when I would have taken a 
doughnut in my mouth, my old friend “ in- 
stinct ” bobbed up to me and said: 

“ Cap, you’ll never be trusted if you 
steal. Ask for it, if you want it.” 

After that I whinnied in a soft coaxing 


32 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


voice, and Uncle Toby opened the inside 
door. I shall never forget how he laughed, 
when he saw me looking so longingly at 
the pan of doughnuts. He gave me one 
to taste, and the taste was better than the 
smell. 

This was the beginning of my visits to 
the house. Every morning now, I got 
even with that cruel door, by pushing it 
back with a bang, when I would step into 
the hall, and ask for the breakfast which 
I knew was always waiting for me. 

Uncle Toby stayed several days at the 
farm this time, and I heard him say to 
Bimtie’s mother: 

IVe watched Cap pretty closely since 
IVe been here, and it seems to me he 
knows more than other ponies of his 
age, and he’s growing to be a beauty. 
Blood tells, and he is so intelligent I be- 
lieve we can make a trick pony out of him. 
I’m going to try at any rate.” 

Now what was a trick pony? I had not 
the slightest idea, but the tone of his 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


33 


voice told me it was something nice, and 
quite rare, so I began to arch my neck and 
feel exactly as the rooster looked, that 
was flapping his wings, and crowing on the 
fence in front of me. 

After these exciting days in which I 
had become acquainted with my family 
and myself, life flowed on very quietly at 
the farm. Much of the time Billy and I 
played together, or I was alone with the 
sheep in the pasture, saving the days when 
Uncle Toby came to visit, and turned Raz- 
zle and Dazzle out with me. 

Dazzle rarely had much to say to me, 
unless it was to tease and try my temper, 
by biting or kicking me. He always said 
that he kicked, simply because he had an 
overflow of spirits, which having flowed 
into him, had to find an outlet for them- 
selves somewhere. But after a time I be- 
gan to distrust his spirits, for they never 
seemed to require an outlet unless I stood 
within close range of his heels. 

I have said that love and kindness are 


34 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


catching, and I think they are, though 
there are exceptions to this rule, as to all 
others. Dazzle was ever under the in- 
fluence of Eazzle’s love, and she plead with 
him to be kind and gentle, but her plead- 
ing was nearly in vain, for though I think 
he would have been much uglier, had it 
not been for her, yet he had the misfortune 
of being born bad, and of glorying in it, 
just as I have known some men to do. 
But his wickedness only served to make 
Razzle seem more tender and dear by con- 
trast, and I was always happy when she 
was near. I can look back over my life 
and see how much I owe her, for her 
good example, and how really vicious I 
might have become, in the trying hours en- 
dured, had it not been for her lessons of 
love. 

Buntie and Boo lived alone with their 
mother on the farm, in the summer season, 
for their father’s business called him far 
away, and they were happier in his ab- 
sence, to be among the birds, and trees, 
where the children could run unrestrained. 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


35 


We were very glad it was so, for we loved 
to have them near us. How often on those 
summer mornings, soon after I had crept 
out of my shed, I would look across the 
pasture and spy a happy little party com- 
ing towards me, waving their hands and 
calling. Billy and Buntie and Boo; and 
Boo would always have a piece of candy, 
or a lump of sugar in his pocket, which 
he would slyly put into my mouth, and 
then proceed to lead me away by my mane, 
everywhere, anywhere, that his fancy dic- 
tated. Sometimes it was to picnic by the 
river, or a trip further into the pasture, 
to pick berries or gather wild flowers, when 
he and Buntie would twine wreaths in 
my mane, and feed me dainties from their 
own lunch-baskets; while Billy barked at 
my heels in sheer delight, at being one of 
the party. 

What wonder that my colt-hood was 
one long summer day, in which it was 
very easy to drink in Razzle’s teachings 
of gentleness and love, and to grow strong 
and beautiful, as my master assured me 


36 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


I was doing, every time he came to see 
me. It seems like a sunny dream to look 
back upon, and one from which the awa- 
kening came all too soon. 


CHAPTER IV 


These joyous summer days passed so 
rapidly, I did not realize they were gone, 
till I began to remember them, and try 
to keep warm by living them over again 
in my mind. But even such happy mem- 
ories could not warm me, for the wind 
blew hard and cold from the river, whip- 
ping my mane about my face till it hurt 
me, and switching my tail around as if 
it had an exclusive right to my belongings, 
and I had nothing whatever to say about 
them! There were no ripples dancing on 
the river now, for it was cold and still, sav- 
ing one black hole which was kept open 
for us to drink from. Then one day after 
all the merry leaves had stopped rustling 
among the trees, and the wind had scur- 
ried them away in heaps, down the frozen 
river, there came something new, which I 
had never seen before. 


38 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


The sun had been kept in for several 
days, and I was just wondering why, when 
suddenly the air grew so thick I could 
scarcely find the way back to my shed; 
and there began to fall all over me, tiny 
white things, that seemed to melt away 
the moment they touched me, as if they 
were afraid. They danced and swirled 
into every place, and when I tried to look 
up at them, they jumped into my eyes, 
and ran away so fast that I couldn’t see 
them at all. 

These were lonely days, for Buntie and 
Boo were in town, and there was no one 
left to keep me company, but Billy and 
the farmer. The cattle were turned into 
fields and pastures, and we ran like wild 
animals through the cold winter, all but 
the sheep and I, who had the shed for shel- 
ter, and were given salt and food when- 
ever we needed them. 

But one fair day I awoke, and the birds 
had come back to the willows, the ripples 
had taken to dancing again on the water, 
and when I looked across the field, Buntie 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


39 


and Boo were running towards me, with 
Billy barking at their heels. Then life 
grew merry again, and it was summer,— 
till the cold days came back— and then 
another spring— when I was two years 
old! These two years had been uneventful, 
so I have passed them over rapidly; but 
now Uncle Toby said I was old enough to 
harness and break. I must be taught some 
tricks too, he said, for he was sure I would 
learn them easily. 

It was not long after this, when I was 
playing in the yard with the children, that 
I heard the sound of carriage wheels, and 
Uncle Toby drove up, with a merry good 
morning,’’ and a friendly neigh from Eaz- 
zle. He usually rode in a surrey, with the 
running gear cut down, so it would not 
look too tall for Razzle and Dazzle, and 
this morning he had a tiny two-wheeled 
cart, tied on behind the surrey. It was 
just the colour of the oak leaves, when they 
are lying on the ground in the fall, and 
there was a harness of the same colour, on 
the seat, though it was trimmed with bits 


40 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


of bright leather, like the red maple leaves, 
and looked very pretty to me. 

When the children ran to meet their 
grandfather, he tossed Boo up on one of 
his shoulders, and threw an arm around 
Buntie, saying to her: 

“ Do you see what I have brought to 
Cap? A cart and harness! and Buntie 
dear, after he has learned to use them, 
if you are a good little girl, they shall all 
belong to you.” 

Up to this time, no one had ever been 
allowed to get on my back, but now Uncle 
Toby lifted Buntie up, and before I real- 
ized what was happening, I felt her soft 
arms clinging around my neck. She was 
not heavy, and I was glad when I heard 
Uncle Toby say that I had a splendid seat, 
just big enough for her. Buntie laughed 
happily, but she still clung to me as though 
afraid, till her grandfather said: 

“ Sit up, Buntie, Jinks will not hurt you, 
for he is like his mother, and has not one 
vicious trait! ” 

How this filled my heart with pride. 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


41 


Not for worlds would I injure my little 
mistress now, for I knew the master 
trusted me; then too, I was very happy 
to hear him speak so well of my mother, 
after the slighting remarks which Dazzle 
had made concerning her. 

It seemed then, that my mother was 
sweet and kind, as Razzle, and if this were 
true, I would be like her. So when Uncle 
Toby chirruped to me and said: Go 

on Cap,’’ I began to walk ever so gently 
aroimd the yard. After a little, Buntie 
seemed to feel that I was a friend to 
her, and she sat very straight, just hold- 
ing a lock of my mane in her hands. 

Presently Uncle Toby hit me lightly on 
my flank with the little whip he had taken 
from the cart, and I understood he wanted 
me to go faster, so I cantered away as 
gently as I could, across the yard, with 
Uncle Toby trotting by my head. This 
was a delight, for already I had learned 
that it made me feel very strong and gay, 
when I could make the people around me 
laugh; and my heart rose up so high, that 


42 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


it felt as if it would come out of me, 
though it did not. 

Razzle was looking over the fence, and 
there was something so proud in her eyes 
when she watched me, that I grew happier 
still ! But a pony cannot learn his lessons 
aU at once, any more than a boy can, as 
I found out before that morning was over. 

All this time while Buntie was taking 
her first riding lesson. Boo was standing 
by the blue pump, in the back yard. I 
noticed that his eyes were brighter than 
usual, and that they followed us every 
where we went; his cheeks were blazing 
red too, and his lips pouted out so far, 
that his little nose looked exactly as if 
it had been stuck on top of them, to try 
to hold them down— but couldn’t! He did 
not speak, and he looked so strange that 
I wanted to ask him what ailed him, only 
he wouldn’t understand me. Just then 
Buntie saw him, and I heard her say; 

“ O Grandpa, poor Boo wants to get 
up too. Please let him,”— and then Boo 
was lifted on my hack in front of Buntie. 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


43 


Now this was all very well, and I trotted 
around happily, till the heels of Boo^s 
shoes, which were full of nails, began 
sticking into my neck like pins. They 
hurt me so that I jumped and went faster, 
hoping to run away from them. This 
pleased him, and he giggled and jabbed 
them into me again. Uncle Toby saw him 
the last time, and reached out to lift him 
down, but he was too late. 

Now I would like to ask how any pony 
two years old, could know just what to 
do under such trying circumstances? I 
am willing to own I did not, and that I 
forgot everything but my one desire to 
get those nails out of my flesh. I reared 
and ran back, till I walked on my tail and 
nearly fell, and then something whispered 
in my ear, If you want to throw him, 
put your nose on the ground suddenly.’^ 
I recognized the voice of instinct, and 
obeyed it too, for I instantly wheeled 
around and bolted toward the barn. But 
when I reached the pump I stopped short, 
and lowering my head, I sent poor Boo 


44 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


flying over it, splash into the watering 
trough, while Buntie sprawled face down 
in the midst of a flock of hens, each of 
which was trying so hard to get out of 
the way that she got exactly in it. Both 
children screamed so loudly, I thought 
they must be hurt, though they were not; 
and Uncle Toby told them they couldn’t 
have made more fuss about it, if they 
had been killed. 

But this was not all, for I had Razzle 
to deal with, after I was put in the pas- 
ture. She gave me my first real hard 
scolding, teUing me she was no longer 
proud of me, and that I had acted in a 
shameful manner, for a pony who was old 
enough to be harnessed. She asked me 
where my love for the children had gone, 
that I could be so forgetful of their safety. 
And she said after this, when they were 
driving or riding, I should carry them in 
my steadiest gait, and if anything ever 
frightened me, I was to think so much of 
their safety, that it would make me forget 
my own fear. 
















I SENTT POOR BOO FLYING OVER IT, SPLASH INTO THE 
WATERING trough/’ 




CAPTAIN JINKS 


45 


^ I never remember feeling so fooUsb in 
my life, and if I bad been Billy, I am 
sure I should have folded my tail away 
between my legs and passed out of sight. 

All that afternoon there was a new voice 
talking to me. It was not like instinct, 
and I firmly believe if it had been inside 
of a man he would have said that he was 
thinking, and would have recognized the 
thing that pricked so sharply, as con- 
science. But horses are not supposed to 
think, so I will call it the new voice. 

Be this as it may, the new voice spoke 
very loudly to me, and made me feel so 
droopy and tired, that I do not believe 
I ran across the pasture once. It said I 
had done wrong, and seemed to approve 
of everything Razzle had told me. Then 
just as I was deciding I would never be 
so wicked again. Dazzle came galloping up 
to me and said: 

Good boy. Cap. Served him right. 
Keep it up. I didn^t think you had oats 
enough to do anything so smart. 

But Razzle drove him away, and told 


46 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


me not to listen to him, for he was tempt- 
ing me to do what I knew was wrong. 

Now here was another voice stirring 
inside me, and suddenly I began to laugh, 
when I thought of Boo in the watering 
trough, and the way he howled; and for 
a minute I felt as if I had done some- 
thing very smart, and would like to play 
it all over again. But Razzle said it was 
only the voice of the tempter, and I must 
never listen to it. 

So after a long struggle, when the light 
was out in the farm-house windows, and 
there was nothing in all the world to be 
heard, but the sound of the frogs, singing 
in the creek just below the house, I went 
to sleep with a sweet peace all through 
me. I had decided never to run again 
with Buntie or Boo, and never again to 
listen to that other voice, that Razzle said 
belonged to the tempter. How I kept 
my promise you shall seel 


CHAPTER V 

After this a great change came into my 
life, for Uncle Toby began to break me 
to the harness. You remember how he 
filled me with faith and love when I first 
saw him? Well, my feeling for him never 
changed. But I am sure that had I loved 
him any the less, I should have bitten him 
when he thrust that cold thing he called 
a bit between my teeth. It would be very 
hard to make you understand how it felt. 
Why, my mouth ached, and my heart too, 
because it hurt me so to think my mas- 
ter would be willing to make me suffer 
such pain. 

Yet Razzle and Dazzle wore the bridle, 
and Razzle took her bit so gently every 
day, that I soon began to see it must be 
right, and tried to follow her example. 
But it was a long time before I could find 

47 


48 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


any room for my tongue, with that hard 
iron in my mouth. Though I finally 
learned it gave me less pain, if I turned 
at once, the same way my head was pulled 
by the rein. 

After I had been driven aroimd the 
yard with Buntie on my back, till I had 
learned to go just where she would have 
me. Uncle Toby harnessed me into the 
cart. Perhaps I was not proud then, for 
it made me think I was grown up like 
Eazzle! 

But oh! I can never forget how stiff 
and tight I felt, buckled into all those 
straps, nor how much I wanted to break 
away and run, when he kept pulling them 
tighter and tighter. But I didnT, for the 
new voice was still with me. 

When my harness was fitted, and I drew 
the cart to the back door, my master, still 
holding the reins, stood off and looked at 
me. I thought he seemed pleased, and 
presently I knew he was, for he said: 

‘‘ Cap, you are the prettiest creature 
in the town, not one can hold a candle 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


49 


to you.’’ And then as Buntie came run- 
ning out, he added: 

You ought to be proud of this little 
rig, for there is not another pony or cart 
in the country that can touch it. I be- 
lieve Jinks is the most perfect piece of 
pony flesh in harness. He is handsomer 
than his mother was. Why, Buntie, he 
has the cleanest white coat, the roundest 
most perfect body, and the heaviest, long- 
est mane and tail I ever saw. Just look 
here and see how pink his nostrils are, 
and how blue his eyes. I tell you what, 
it isn’t every little girl who has a blue- 
eyed pony. Did you know he has what 
is called watch eyes? Some do not like 
them, but I do.” 

Now how could I ever again possess 
the meek and lowly spirit, which Eazzle 
says a pony must feel, if he would be 
happy? Why, really, I have been strug- 
gling ever since, to look humble; and 
there is nothing which helps me so much 
to be so, as to remember that I did not 
have any share in making myself. 


50 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


Before the summer was over, Buntie 
and Boo were driving me everywhere. 
They had no fear of me, though I always 
heard their mother tell them to keep away 
from railroad trains, and in this they 
obeyed her. I often carried them to town, 
and sometimes it took a whole forenoon 
to go and come; for Buntie ’s hand was 
light on the rein, and I dearly loved to 
pick my way in the soft grass by the road- 
side, nibbling as I went. 

One day there had been a gentle rain 
falling all the morning, and when we were 
driving home in the afternoon, the grass 
was so sweet I could not resist it, and 
the clover, too, was in full bloom. If you 
know what Wisconsin clover is, then you 
know that it makes a pony’s nostrils 
quiver with delight, and brings back to his 
mind aU the beautiful things he ever heard 
or dreamed of. 

Well, Buntie chirruped and pulled on 
the reins, and Boo threw little stones at 
me; and once— only once, did the whip 
come down, crack on my back! There was 


CAPTAIN JINKS 51 

a dewy buncli of clover just ahead, and 
when I jumped, I bit it off, intending to 
trot on while I ate it; but it was so sweet 
I forgot to go, and then the brightest patch 
of grass I had seen was just ahead, and 
I stopped to nibble this, till before I knew 
it the sun had gone to bed, and Boo be- 
gan to cry. The farm seemed very far 
away, and it seemed to me as though we 
might stay here all night, when something 
came leaping over the fence, and charged 
full at my heels. It was Billy, and he 
gave me an urgent invitation to move on, 
that I scarcely dared to disobey. 

There was no more grass by the road- 
side that trip, for if I even tried to take 
a nibble, Billy tried the same thing on 
my heels. I don’t think he enjoyed his 
bite, half as much as I did mine, but he 
knew it was night, and the children ought 
to be at home. 

I believe that all through this story of 
my life, I have made it quite plain to you, 
that ponies would like to be allowed to 
think. And if you could have lived with 


52 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


Razzle as I did, I am sure you would never 
again doubt that horses know what they 
want, and try to get it; or that we un- 
derstand what is wanted of us, if our mas- 
ters are good, kind teachers. When we 
are well taught, we are as anxious to do 
what is required of us as they are to have 
us. 

Sometimes it seemed to me that Razzle ’s 
obedience pleased her more than it did 
Uncle Toby, and she was so quick to read 
his wishes, that to be with her, made 
me feel as stupid as a hen in compari- 
son. 

Besides her intelligent loving qualities, 
Razzle seemed to have a fondness for ma- 
king people laugh, and once she actually 
set both Billy and me, to smiling aloud! 
Uncle Toby had taught her to do things 
which he called tricks, and the children 
loved to have her do them for Dazzle and 
Billy and me, in the farm-yard. She could 
walk on two legs, and tell us stories in a 
soft little whinny; nod her head to say 
how many times she was years old, shake 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


53 


hands with Buntie and Boo, and kiss their 
faces, just as tenderly as they kissed us. 

One morning when we were all back 
of the house playing with the children, and 
Buntie had been making Razzle do her 
tricks, she seemed to be so full of mis- 
chief, that it was not enough to do what 
was asked of her; so over and again she 
shook her head to tell her age, and offered 
us her hand to shake. Then suddenly as 
both the children had their mouths wide 
open, laughing, Razzle plunged her nose 
deep into a pail of buttermilk, that was 
standing near, and kissed Buntie all over 
her face and hair. If you could have seen 
the bright lights dancing in Razzle ’s eyes 
then, and how she enjoyed the joke, you 
would never doubt again that she could 
think things out for herself. 

When I watched her, as I did many 
times, standing on her hind legs, or doing 
so cleverly anything that was asked of her, 
a great yearning would come to me to do 
all that she could, and perhaps more. I 
remembered Uncle Toby^s words, that I 


54 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


would make a good trick pony, and now 
that I knew what he meant, I felt a grow- 
ing conviction that he was right. 

About this time, our farmer, who had 
been with us ever since I could remember, 
had disappeared, leaving Uncle Toby with- 
out help, and the children’s mother alone. 
He had been a strange man always, and we 
saw him so little that we never gave him 
a thought, or cared when he went or 
came. 

But now the crops were at their height, 
and there must have been a great deal to 
do, for Uncle Toby came with Razzle and 
Dazzle, and stayed with us till another 
man was hired. Ah! well do I recall that 
day, and the change it brought into my 
life. 

One morning as I was taking the chil- 
dren to town, and we were trotting lei- 
surely along, having a jolly time all by 
ourselves, there suddenly loomed ahead of 
us, near a turn in the road, a huge thing 
looking like a piece of board-fence, so tall 
that no horse could ever jrnnp it; and all 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


65 


over its face were pictures of flaming red, 
and black, and yellow. I never remember 
having seen such frightful things, and I 
nearly forgot all my good resolves, for I 
stopped so suddenly that Boo came tum- 
bling over the dasher, giving me a hard 
push with his hands, to keep himself from 
going further. 

Buntie tried to make me go on, but this 
was such an unusual sight that I could not 
bear to get any i^earer to it, till she tickled 
me with the whip and said: 

You silly thing. Cap, go along. Don’t 
you know that is nothing but the circus 
bill-board, and it will never hurt you? ” 

When she spoke in this tone of voice I 
always felt safer, so I trotted by quickly, 
though I kept as far away as the opposite 
gutter would allow. 

I don’t think the children’s mother 
knew we were going to town that morning, 
for when we left the house, we started in 
the opposite direction, taking a path back 
across a fleld to the main road; and I 
heard the children laugh as they said; 


56 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


“ Ma will never know tkat we have gone 
to see the circus parade.” 

Something in their voices made my 
blood tingle; and after I had that sudden 
introduction to the bill-board, I scented an 
unusual excitement in the air, which in- 
creased as we neared town. 

Although it was early in the day, the 
streets were filled with people, some stand- 
ing on the sidewalks as if they were wait- 
ing to see us go by; while vehicles of 
every description, from farm wagons to 
shining teams, were drawn up by the 
curbings, all waiting, waiting for some- 
thing, I knew not what. 

There were strange faces I had never 
seen on our streets , before. Women with 
bright cloths tied over their heads, were 
walking beside dark looking men, who 
made music every little while on a queer 
machine which they wound up; and it set 
me to dancing in spite of myself. There 
were shafts on these machines, large 
enough for me to get into, and I couldn’t 
help thinking what fun it would be, to be 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


57 


harnessed into one of them and hear that 
jolly music all day. 

After a while, Buntie drove down a side 
street, where turning me around to face 
the main road, she said: 

“ Stand still now, Cappie, and see what 
is coming.” 

Of course I was full of wondering, hut 
I had not long to wait, for she had scarcely 
finished speaking, when I heard music so 
gay it nearly took me off my feet. Then 
a lot of men came marching along, dressed 
in brilliant colours, and they were playing 
big gold instruments that shone in the sun. 
Buntie told Boo it was a brass band, but 
I had never heard one before. 

I think there is something in bright col- 
ours that gets into my blood, for I delight 
to look at them, and always feel like fol- 
lowing them; I would have done so now, 
but the street was so crowded I was afraid. 

By this time, horses and bicycles were 
packed so closely around me, that if Bun- 
tie had wanted to turn and drive away, 
there would have been no room to move. 


58 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


I could feel tlirougli the reins that she was 
frightened, and when I looked at her, her 
hands trembled and her cheeks were 
flushed. But Boo’s eyes were shining, and 
I knew fresh mischief was brewing; so I 
made a great effort to think of Razzle, and 
to listen to the new voice which was whis- 
pering: 

Be very careful. Cap, you are in a 
hard place! ” 

Then I stood still, though I quivered in 
every muscle. As far as I could see, the 
streets had turned into a moving mass of 
people and things. Now directly in front 
of us, marching two by two, there came 
a lot of great animals with humps on their 
backs, carrying pretty girls between the 
humps; then the elephants walked by, 
nodding their stupid looking heads, and 
keeping time to the music, with their long 
noses,— and one of them reached around 
and tried to grab me. I would have run 
back, but I remembered it was not safe. 

Now away up the street I could see 
horses of every colour walking together; 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


59 


wonderful creatures of shining black, and 
creamy white, wearing golden harnesses 
and all sorts of gay trimmings, and they 
were so beautiful that I forgot to be 
afraid. How daintily they stepped to the 
music, and how they arched their proud 
necks. I wished I could carry mine the 
same way, but I was so little, I would still 
look insignificant if I tried. 

Following close to the horses’ heels, 
there came a large number of ugly, red- 
looking men and women, covered with 
bright spangles, and wearing feathers on 
their heads; then strange animals riding 
past in golden carriages, frightened me, 
and set my nostrils to quivering. I 
thought I surely must go away if I could, 
but just that minute something began to 
play in the distance, that set all the horses 
around me to jumping and rearing. Then 
I heard Boo clap his hands, and cry out 
with delight: 

0 sister, the steam-piano is coming, 
see quick! ” 

We did not need to see, it was enough 


60 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


to hear; for six great black horses, with 
crimson plumes on their heads, came pranc- 
ing along, dragging behind them an in- 
strument with huge pipes, that seemed to 
exist for no other purpose but to fill the 
air with the most fiendish sounds that a 
poor untrained pony ever listened to. 
Never in my short life had such an outrage 
been committed against all that was good 
in me. My resolve to be quiet as an old 
horse, no matter what happened, went 
fioating away with the blasts from the 
pipes of that machine, and died out with 
them, so that I could not have called it 
back if I would. Every time those pipes 
snorted, I jmnped and snorted with them, 
till at last I became so frightened that I 
forgot who I was, or that the children 
were behind me in the cart. Then I 
backed frantically into a horse, and plung- 
ing forward, bolted for the sidewalk, in 
the midst of screaming women and chil- 
dren, who tried to run away, but could 
not, because there was nowhere to run. 
Buntie’s hold was so light on the reins, I 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


61 


could not feel it, and I knew she had lost 
her courage, though Boo, dear little man, 
was laughing aloud, and just when I would 
have stopped, he struck me a stinging 
blow with the whip such as I had never 
felt before, and shouted: 

Come back into the road with you, 
quick! ’’ 

This was too much! I did come back 
in the road, and dashed into the midst of 
the circus parade, close behind a lot of 
men who were walking with the horses; 
and it would be hard to say what dreadful 
thing I might have done, had not a strong 
hand on my bridle brought me to my 
senses, and to a standstill. 

Buntie had dropped the reins, and both 
children were now pale with fright, as the 
stranger, turning me around, led me out 
of the crowd. As soon as I felt his touch 
on my bridle, I was heartily ashamed of 
myself! Our dear children were in my 
care, and I had forgotten them. What 
would Razzle and Uncle Toby say? 

There was another thing also which I 


62 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


began to feel keenly, and this was the 
band of the man who was bolding my bead. 
There was something strange about the 
touch, for although not heavy, it was mas- 
terful; and a whisper running from it, 
along the rein, into my consciousness, told 
me that whether I would or no, here was 
one I must obey. It was not a good feel- 
ing he gave me, because I knew that obedi- 
ence to him would be from fear, and never 
for love. Anxious as I was to get away 
from him, I dared make no effort to do so. 
Even when he let go of me, I stood per- 
fectly still, and tried not to let him see 
h(^ I was trembling. 

^ When he had led us to a place of safety, 
^and Buntie thanked him for his help, he 
^ still lingered beside me as if he had some- 
thing more to say. At length after look- 
ing me over closely, stroking my coat, ta- 
king my mane and tail in his fingers, and 
finally opening my mouth to examine my 
teeth, he gave a low whistle, and turning 
to the chr r 1 said; 

‘‘ This 1.. )retty pony you have here, 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


63 


but be is too young and too much excited 
for you to drive borne alone. I tbink I 
will go with you.” Then be climbed into 
the cart and took the reins. 

I can never tell you bow I bated to have 
bun drive me, but I dared not rebel. Al- 
though I knew be was behind me, I still 
could see him close in front of me, with 
bis cold, grey eyes, glittering out from bis 
black face, and shaggy brows; and be gave 
me the same feeling of danger I have bad, 
when in the pasture, a bolt of lightning 
flashed upon me from out a dark cloud— 
and I knew that even though I ran to 
cover, there was no protection from it any- 
where. 

He was of average height, though he 
looked even shorter, for he had a sneaking 
stoop, that I have often seen in bad men. 
There seems to be something in their 
minds that weighs their bodies down, and 
keeps them from looking up, and out at 
the world, as a good man does. Sometimes 
I think it must always be ; 'rry voice 
that is speaking to them. :t man was 


64 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


not only sorry-looking, but black, for with 
his heavy hair and beard, he seemed all 
darkness— -no light anywhere. 

I heard him talking to the children, ask- 
ing who they were, what their grand- 
father’s name was, and who took care of 
his horses. When he came in sight of the 
house, he stopped me, and gave Buntie the 
reins, saying: 

‘‘ Good-bye, little girl. It would never 
do for me to go near the house where your 
mother could see me, for she would be 
afraid something had happened to her 
babies.” Then he got out of the cart and 
walked back toward the town. 

He was gone, yet as much as I dreaded 
him, no feeling of relief came to me. Only 
a great sadness, and a foreboding of sor- 
row such as I had never felt before. Then 
regret, too, played a sharp tune on my 
memory, for it told me that if I had not 
allowed myself to get frightened, this man 
would never have noticed me. 

I was too wretched all that day to eat 
the oats that were left in my shed for me. 


CHAPTER VI 


Toward evening when I lay out under 
the willow tree, thinking of and regret- 
ting all that had happened through the 
day, I heard a threatening roar of thunder 
in the distance, which made my misery 
complete. There was no red and gold sun- 
set that night, for the storm clouds con- 
tinued to grow black, and though it did 
not rain it was dark very early. 

I had not been to the river for water all 
the afternoon, and now as the black night 
closed in around me, I became so thirsty 
that my mouth and throat felt parched. 
But somehow I was very nervous and ac- 
tually afraid to go down the steep path 
to the river. If only Billy were here, I 
thought, he would keep me company, so 
I whinnied three times as loudly as I 
could. 


65 


66 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


But Billy, my faithful friend, was much 
nearer than I realized, and before I had 
finished speaking, he was barking at my 
heels. He seemed to know exactly what 
was in my mind, for he followed me 
closely, though now very silently, down 
the hill. Once I noticed he stopped, and 
lifting his nose into the air, he sniffed long 
and suspiciously, as though there were 
something about, which he did not like, 
and then he kept his place even closer to 
me than before. 

Just as we reached the river, a flash of 
lightning darted through a heavy cloud 
that hung over the water, and lighting 
everything around us, fell upon the dark 
figure of a man, slouching away into some 
bushes near by. It disappeared so quickly 
that I almost thought it a shadow, but 
Billy gave a deep, ugly growl, such as we 
seldom heard from him, and then he 
crouched behind me to keep a faithful 
lookout, while I drank. 

It did not take me long that night to 
climb the hill and put myself under cover. 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


67 


And I was conscious of a strong sense of 
relief, when I saw Billy throw himself 
down in one corner of my shed, where, 
stretching his nose out upon his extended 
paws, he lay with wide-open, watchful 
eyes. 

I was awake myself for what seemed 
hours to me, watching the lightning play 
in the green of the willow branches droop- 
ing over our door, and dreading the roar- 
ing thunder which always followed a flash, 
sooner or later. If it could only lighten 
without thundering, what fun it would be 
to see it! But horses do fear that terrible 
roar. 

I could never understand how it hap- 
pened that, excited as I was, I Anally fell 
asleep in the midst of that storm. I do 
not know what time it was when I awoke, 
but the clouds had cleared away, and a 
moon which seemed to me to be growing 
smaller every night now, looked into my 
shed with a very bright smile, considering 
it had only half a face to smile with! A 
breeze was stirring the leaves in front of 


68 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


the door, till their shadows danced aU over 
the patch of moon-beam that shone upon 
my floor. The night was beautiful, yet 
there was something strange about it, for 
though I knew not why, a sudden horror 
came over me, that set me to trembling 
from my nose to my crupper bone. Then 
the horror was increased by a flerce, low 
growl, from the corner where BiUy lay, 
and a stealthy step that was surely com- 
ing nearer! Billy stopped growling, and 
lay crouched as though ready for a spring. 
But he did not move a muscle, even as 
much as to wink, when the figure of a 
strange man stepped through the door, 
into the middle of the moon-beam patch, 
and looking at me, gave a low whistle like 
the one I had heard in the morning. That 
whistle brought a shiver of terror to me, 
for it told me who my visitor was, and I 
knew that he was here for no good pur- 
pose. He did not see Billy, for he had no 
eyes for anything but me, as patting my 
neck he said: 

“ Well, Cap, you beauty, it’s you and me 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


69 


now that will be partners. Come on, take 
your bit like a good boy! ” and he tried 
to force a bit between my teeth. 

I had been afraid of him in the morning, 
but now I believe I would have died on the 
spot, rather than to open my mouth for 
him. I threw up my head, and rearing on 
my hind legs, reached out to strike him 
with my hoofs as I came down. He 
laughed very low at this, as if he were 
afraid of being heard, till he found I really 
would not have my bridle on, and then he 
struck me a blow between the eyes that 
blinded me, and made me stagger for a 
minute : 

Take that, will yer, and see who will 
be master now! 

But he had not reckoned on the presence 
of a third party. No sooner had he struck 
the blow, than there was the fiercest growl 
I ever heard, as springing with one bound, 
Billy fastened his teeth into the palm of 
the hand which had struck me, and held it 
in a grip so cruel that the man cried out 
in pain. He kicked Billy, and tried with 


70 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


his free hand to tear his jaws apart, but 
the teeth only set tighter, tiU the half 
frantic man started for the door, and then 
Billy let go. After this, so long as that 
man’s back was turned to me, and he faced 
the door, Billy crouched quietly between 
us; but every time he moved as though 
he would come toward me, a hoarse growl 
and a shaking jaw warned him to keep a 
stranger’s distance. 

This play, in which I seemed to take no 
part, though to my sorrow I have since 
learned how large a part I did play, went 
on for hours, it seemed, and not one foot 
nearer to me did the wretch get. I think 
Billy would have torn him into atoms, had 
he touched me again. At last when the 
moon had gone out, and the darkness was 
not so black, I heard the sleepy call of a 
bird over our heads; then with a horrible 
oath, and the threat that he would see us 
before long, the man went away. 

Several days following this fearful night, 
Billy and I were the closest companions. 
Indeed, he seldom left me for an hour, not 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


71 


even going to the house when the children 
called him, imless he was in need of food. 
He seemed to feel grave doubts of my 
safety, and believing that one good turn 
deserved another, he decided to repeat 
the turn himself, by being on hand for 
any second attack of danger that might 
come to me. 

Brave, noble Billy! If for departed dogs, 
somewhere in the unknown, God has 
planted green fields, and pastures that 
never wither, I am sure that Billy will 
sleep in the corner where the sun shines 
the warmest, and the sweetest bones are 
buried. For never was a truer friend, or 
a merrier playfellow than he. Sometimes 
when I was trotting down hill, with Buntie 
and Boo, trying as hard as ever I could 
to keep the cart from running into me, 
Billy would come and bark at my heels, 
or dodging in front of me, nip my nose, 
or almost trip my feet— yet even then I 
loved him! 

And now that he had deserted the chil- 
dren, and clung so closely to me, I was 


72 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


happy, though I could not help knowing 
that he dreaded some unseen danger. This 
of course made me uncomfortable, and I 
did not wander very far from my shed 
for more than a week. Then another thing 
which made me feel dreary, was that ever 
since the thunder, the sky had worn noth- 
ing but thick grey, and I had begun to 
fear the sun would never wake up again. 

But finally one day, when Billy and I 
trotted up to the house to say good morn- 
ing, we saw the sun once more turning 
Boo’s curls into gold, and shining in Uncle 
Toby’s one open eye, while it shut the 
other into a little squint he so often 
wore, when the light got too friendly with 
him. 

Buntie and Boo were right glad to see 
us, but the master did not turn to speak 
as usual, for he was talking with a stran- 
ger and I heard him say: 

Very well, you may sleep in the car- 
riage house for a night or two, till things 
are straightened out, and if your recom- 
mendations come, I will hire you. Mean- 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


73 


time you can take hold and help me, for 
I shall stay here the rest of the week/’ 

Just then my master’s eye fell on me, 
and coming to me, he put his arms around 
my neck, and laid his face against mine. 
Oh! but I loved him, and he has always 
been kind to me, so I love him still. Pres- 
ently the strange man came towards us, 
and Uncle Toby said: 

Dick, this is the Shetland I have been 
telling you about. He is very intelligent, 
and if you are used to training horses, as 
you say you are, I shall expect you to 
teach him some rare tricks. What do you 
think of his eyes? ” 

By this time I imderstood that this 
stranger was to be our new hired man; 
and the thought that he was a horse-man, 
and would train me to do all sorts of 
things, made me feel glad. I turned and 
looked him full in the face. There was 
something familiar about him, yet so far 
as I could teU I had never seen him before. 

He was much shorter than Uncle Toby, 
and he wore his hair close-cut. His face 


74 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


was smooth-sliaveii, and lie had a square 
cruel jaw, that surely had never till now, 
showed itself to me, or I could not have 
forgotten it. Yet when he came closer, 
running his hands through my mane, and 
looking into my eyes, that strange shiver 
ran over me, which I had felt once before, 
at the touch of a hand— and my instinct 
spoke again! Just here Billy growled 
fiercely, and crouching near me, grinned 
in a way that gave the man a fair warning, 
as to the size and possible use of his teeth. 
Then the chain of evidence became com- 
plete, when I noticed that the stranger’s 
right hand was bandaged. This Dick was 
no other than our rescuer on circus day, 
and our would-be horse thief at night. 
And he was coming to take care of us! 

Oh! if I could only describe the wave 
of fear that passed over me. In an hour, 
the simple trusting nature that Uncle 
Toby and Eazzle had so carefully devel- 
oped in me, turned into one of anger and 
doubt, which I knew would remain with 
me, till I was free from the presence of 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


75 


this wretch, who had come into my life. 
I was glad when I heard Billy continue 
to growl, and saw that he had attracted 
our master’s attention. Why could he not 
understand what Billy was trying so hard 
to tell him, and what I too, tried to con- 
vey, by the fit of kicking and snorting that 
seized me when I felt Dick’s hand in my 
mane? 

I think a slight doubt did cross Uncle 
Toby’s mind, for he looked sharply at the 
new man as he said to Billy: 

Why, old boy, what’s the matter with 
you? Stop your noise! ” Then patting 
me fondly he said: Quiet now, Jinks, 

you old chums are strangely excited this 
morning. Can’t you tell your master 
about it? ” 

Just think of his asking that question, 
when we were trying so hard to tell him. 
Was not that heart-breaking? Never in 
all my life had I wanted so much to talk 
a language that he could understand. 


CHAPTER Vn 


After this nothing ever seemed quite the 
same at the farm. Billy continued his at- 
titude of distrust toward the new man, 
and I made no effort to conceal mine. 
Whenever Dick came near me, that awful 
voice which Razzle called the tempter, 
spoke so loudly that I usually obeyed it, 
because I could hear no other. I snapped 
and kicked and struck till Razzle looked 
discouraged. Though after he left me I 
would often run to comfort her, assuring 
her that I was not all bad, and I would be 
good once more, when that wicked man 
was gone. She knew all our troubles, and 
was gentle and patient. But I could see 
that master, who did not understand, was 
sorely tried. How I longed to be gentle 
for his sake, but I could not. 

There is one thing I must say in Dick’s 
76 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


77 


favour, and it is that during his stay with 
us, he was never unkind in any way, to 
either Billy or me. I think he knew we 
remembered that terrible night and he was 
trying to make us forget. 

He had been at the farm but a few days, 
when early one morning Uncle Toby came 
to the bars, and whistled for me. I knew 
his call and hurried to answer it, but when 
I reached him, I was disappointed to find 
he was not alone. Dick was with him and 
came forward to meet me, telling me as 
he led me by the mane, that Uncle Toby 
wanted me to learn some tricks, and I 
must be a good pony and mind what he 
told me to do. 

After this there came a succession of 
weary, heart-breaking days. Whenever my 
master stood looking on, I tried with aU 
my might to obey this man who seemed 
to fill me with an evil spirit; but when 
Uncle Toby was away, many and hard 
were the struggles between us. Every 
morning brought a battle, with a victory 
to one of us, till at length I had become 


78 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


a trained pony, and could take my place 
among the best, so master said. 

I could do all the tricks which Razzle 
did so well, and many more besides; for 
I could waltz to the music of Dick’s mouth- 
organ, select the colour he named, from 
pieces of cloth, and carry to him different 
things he asked for, without making any 
mistakes. I could tell my age too, by nod- 
ding my head a certain number of times, 
and do some simple reckoning, that seemed 
to astonish every one who came to see me. 

But these things were very easy after all, 
for Dick used the same words over and 
over again, when he asked me to do a trick, 
till I learned to associate the words with 
the act. I should have been very proud 
of my accomplishments, had they been 
taught me by any other than Dick. For 
I hated him so bitterly that it took all the 
pleasure away, though I tried to atone for 
my wickedness, by doing these tricks for 
my master, every time he came near me, 
or I heard the sound of his voice. 

When Dick asked me to perform for 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


79 


him, it was quite a different thing, for I 
was so slow to respond to him that he usu- 
ally said: 

Come on. Cap, don’t always be behind 
like a dog’s tail! ” This never failed to 
make me angry, for it seemed like finding 
fault with Billy’s tail because it was behind 
him. And I couldn’t help wondering if it 
would not be a sad thing for us to wake up 
some morning and find that friendly black 
and white tail of Billy’s wagging from the 
top of his head, instead of the end of his 
crupper bone. 

Dick seemed to understand things up- 
side-down anyway. Yet he and Uncle 
Toby agreed so well, that I had begun to 
fear he would stay with us always. 

But the end of my torture came much 
sooner than I had hoped; though by a 
chain of sad events, that were bound to 
come, through a man who had so much 
wickedness in him, as Dick had. 

For some time the children had been 
looking at a new picture on the bill boards 
aroimd town; and I heard Buntie telling 


80 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


Boo, that it was the steamer which was 
going to take the church people up river, 
into the great lake for a picnic. Then 
when he clapped his hands and seemed 
so pleased, she said: 

Yes, Dearie, we are all going. Mother 
and you and I. Mother said I might wear 
my white muslin with the forget-me-nots 
on it, and my big hat with the poppies. 
And you. Boo, I guess you’d better wear 
your little blue Buster clothes, because 
they go so prettily with your eyes.” 

I thought so too, for I am sure I liked 
to see him look pretty, as much as Buntie 
did, and if it were possible, I loved him 
every bit as weU. After this they talked 
of nothing but the picnic^ till at last one 
bright hot morning, I saw the whole fam- 
ily dressed as they usually were, when we 
took them to the little chapel on Sunday; 
and when Boo came out and jumped on 
my back he said: 

‘‘ Be good to-day, won’t you, Cappie, for 
this is our picnic day, and you must stay 
at home to look after things for us.” 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


81 


I understood then what was coming, and 
was not surprised when Uncle Toby drove 
out of the yard, with the new horse, Colo- 
nel, taking our mistress with him, and 
leaving Dick to follow with the children, 
driving Razzle and Dazzle in the little sur- 
rey. 

He was so long getting away, that Boo 
was crying, and I heard him say: 

Please, Dick, do hurry, or the boat 
will be gone when we get there. 

Dick was not in good humour that morn- 
ing, and my heart nearly jumped out of 
me, when I saw him running the ponies 
down the hill, cracking his whip in the 
air, and laying it across their backs with 
a cruel blow, which almost made Dazzle 
leap clear of the harness. Billy followed 
them to the road, and then walking back, 
he threw himself at my feet with a threat- 
ening growl, looking the picture of despair 
and hatred. Alas! I knew what was in 
his mind, and the worry which we shared 
alike kept us very near to each other, all 
that day. When Billy and I were alone. 


82 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


we went back into the pasture to seek the 
shade of the big willow; for the sun, re- 
fusing even to blink his eyes, just kept 
them so wide awake, that there was not 
a cool dark place anywhere. 

I think I must admit that I felt slighted, 
when I began to think over the events of 
the morning; and I could not help wonder- 
ing, why I had not taken the children to 
the steam-boat landing? It was my place, 
and I should have been sure they would 
be safe. Of course I could trust Razzle 
with them, but Dick and Dazzle were 
scarcely a good working team. Dazzle 
both feared and hated him, with such vi- 
cious might, that my reason foretold trou- 
ble. It was not instinct, talking to me this 
morning, for I was doing some active 
thinking, which finally resulted in a fear 
I could not drive away. 

How often in after years, have I recalled 
that day, and how many times has its story 
been whispered into my ear, by Buntie 
and Boo, while they hung about my neck 
in loving confidence. But I will give you 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


83 


the details as I heard them told by Uncle 
Toby. 

The new horse, Colonel, was a tall, long- 
legged, awkward creature. But Uncle 
Toby said that just because his legs were 
so long, he could cover the ground with 
them in short meter. 

I did not quite imderstand what he 
meant by this, for it seemed to me, no 
matter what short meter was, that any- 
thing Colonel’s legs could get into, must 
be long instead of short. 

The landing from which the river-boat 
sailed was four miles away, and with a 
horse as swift as his. Uncle Toby must 
have been half way there, when the chil- 
dren drove out of the yard. Dick had 
been to town the night before, and I think 
he brought some whiskey home with him, 
for I saw him put a bottle in his coat 
pocket, just as he got into the carriage. 
I did not know then what horrible things 
whiskey can do, for men and women; 
though since, I have learned to my sor- 
row. 


84 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


Dick had never driven to the wharf be- 
fore, but both Buntie and the ponies knew 
the way perfectly. Now it so chanced, 
that two roads, apparently running the 
same direction, turned off to the right. 
One was a well worn thoroughfare, and 
the other, a short cut to the river, was 
nothing more than a cart-path, used mostly 
by foot passengers. Dick drew rein here 
and looked questioningly out each road. 

“ Take the further one,” Buntie said. 
“ It is longer, but safer.” 

“ H’m, longer is it, then we’ll try the 
nearest one,” and he turned the ponies 
into it so shortly, that they nearly upset 
the surrey. Buntie grasped his arm, and 
looking up at him with frightened eyes, 
begged him to go back. 

“It is boggy all the way, Dick,” she 
said, “ and the landing is on the other 
side. There is no bridge, and only one safe 
place to wade across. What if we should 
not find this, and get into the quagmire? 
Please, Dick, please do go back,” and both 
children began to cry. 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


85 


It was then that all the good in Dick 
went away, leaving nothing, for the time 
being, but bad. For when he saw Boo was 
crying, he struck him on his dear little 
cheek, making it so red and sore, it looked 
as if the blood were coming through. 

“ Take that, will yer,” he said, “ yer 
great bawling baby.” Then he began lash- 
ing the ponies, till even Razzle reared, and 
tried to run. Dazzle was glad to see her 
show a little spunk at last, so he helped 
her along, and before Dick knew it, he had 
lost control of his team, and the ponies 
were running away. 

Buntie began to realize now that Dick 
did not know what he was doing. He 
made no effort to guide the frightened ani- 
mals, but swinging the reins over his head, 
he broke into a drunken song which he 
interrupted at intervals, by taking a long 
drink from the bottle in his pocket. Then 
he flung the empty flask with such force 
against a great tree, which they were 
whirling past, that it crashed into a thou- 
sand pieces. 


86 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


By this time, both ponies, thoroughly 
frightened, were holding the bits in their 
teeth. The road was rough and unsafe for 
fast going, there was no hand to guide 
them, and they had passed beyond the 
power of reasoning. On, on they flew, 
with foaming nostrils and gleaming eyes, 
now stumbling and almost falling over the 
stubbles, and into the deep ruts under 
their feet; rounding the sharp turns in 
the road with a speed that swayed the 
carriage from right to left, Dick laughing 
wildly, and the white-faced children cling- 
ing to the seat, with all the strength in 
their little arms, — drawing nearer, with 
every frantic hoof-beat, to the danger that 
lay stretched beyond. One more curve in 
the narrow path, where the tall trees gave 
place to the stumps and underbrush of the 
“ cut-down,” — and then gleaming before 
them, the changing sands of the river, 
piled wide and high by the freshets of 
years. Between the road and the river 
lay the still, dead waters of the creek, with 
its treacherous bog on either side and 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


87 


toward a narrow place in this, Dick now 
tried to rein the ponies. 

Buntie saw what he was doing, and with 
terror she clasped her brother to her heart. 
Then as if inspired by both love and fear, 
she sprang forward, and grasping the reins 
from Dick’s hands, began talking in a 
crooning voice to Razzle. The frightened 
feet flew on, wild and unrestrained, till 
gradually, up along the reins into Razzle ’s 
foaming mouth, there ran the conscious- 
ness of Buntie ’s gentle touch; and with 
it, the pony began to hear her voice, and 
to listen. There were only a few steps 
more before crossing the narrow rise of 
grass-land, when they would plunge into 
the bog beyond. Suddenly, throwing up 
her head, and looking around her with a 
groan of despair, Razzle planted her feet 
firmly upon the ground, and tried to stop. 
But it was too late, for Dazzle was still 
wild, as pulling at the harness with all his 
might, he rushed headlong down the bank, 
dragging Razzle with him, where they 
sunk to their flanks in the mud. 


88 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


Razzle stood perfectly still, looking 
around at the children with wide scared 
eyes. She had been caught in the mud 
before, and knew how useless it was to 
struggle. But Dazzle was beyond all con- 
trol and unless help came soon, both ponies 
would be drowned. If Dick would only 
loosen the harness and set them free! But 
he had not the presence of mind, either 
to get out of the surrey, or tell the children 
to. The back wheels of the carriage were 
still on the grass, and the children might 
climb out over the seat, in safety. But 
Boo was too small to think of this, and 
Bimtie’s whole attention was upon Razzle. 
If only she could save her— but how? 
Every moment the danger increased, and 
the child became more helpless. If the 
harness were not loosened. Dazzle’s fran- 
tic efforts would soon sink the carriage. 
But hark! Did some one call Buntie’s 
name, or was it but an echo born of hope? 
No, for there it was again,— louder this 
time, coming nearer, and surely in Uncle 
Toby’s own dear voice! Both children for- 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


89 


got to answer Mm, though he had reached 
the clearing where he could see them 
plainly. Colonel stopped at once, and Uncle 
Toby, jumping from the carriage pulled a 
knife from his pocket while he ran, and in 
less time than I could tell the story to you, 
he had cut the harness and set the ponies 
free. 

Dick had fallen in a heap on the grass, 
but the children were safe in the surrey. 
Razzle was standing still, though Dazzle 
was struggling vainly, and sinking deeper 
with every effort to get away. 

Uncle Toby was beside himself with 
grief, for he saw that he could never save 
the drowning pony. It was then that he 
turned his attention to Razzle. She had 
not sunken so deeply in the mud as her 
bad tempered mate, and there was still 
hope of her saving herself by jumping into 
the waters of the creek just ahead. But 
Razzle was not thinking of herself, for her 
eyes were on Dazzle, as at every plunge 
he made, she seemed to advise and coax 
him with an anxious whinny. Uncle Toby 


90 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


saw and understood, but she was too val- 
uable, and too deeply loved, to be allowed 
to perish needlessly. Something must be 
done,— so scarcely conscious of the act, he 
grasped the whip, and bringing it down 
once, twice, three times, with a cruel blow 
upon her back, he shouted: 

Up, Razzle, up, I tell you. There’s a 
good girl now,— make a brave struggle to 
reach the creek and swim ashore! ” 

She turned one surprised grief-stricken 
glance at her master, and then as the third 
blow stung her into a groan of pain, she 
sprang forward with a mighty effort, and 
freeing herself from the mire, plunged into 
the creek beyond. 

Dazzle was now placed in a more dan- 
gerous position than before, for the hole 
which his mate had left, was so close be- 
side him, that while the mud rushed to- 
gether to fill that living grave, it sunk him 
deeper and deeper, till with a cry of de- 
spair which rang through the woods, he 
was buried from their sight. 


V 





UP, RAZZLE, UP, I TELL YOU/ 







CAPTAIN JINKS 


91 


And the cruel marsh that closed over 
him, left no trace on its dark surface, 
either of its own treachery, or the life that 
had gone out beneath it. 


CHAPTER Vin 


After the morning’s accident, it was a 
sad yet thankful party that wended its 
way back over the cart path, and headed 
toward Helendale. 

Earlier in the day, as Uncle Toby neared 
the steamer landing, and saw no trace of 
the children and Dick, the same fear that 
was filling Billy and me, came to him, and 
filled him so full that he turned back, hop- 
ing to meet the missing party and guide 
them to the steamer. Colonel was given 
the reins, and half the distance home had 
been covered, yet the ponies were not in 
sight. But as Uncle Toby turned from the 
cross road into the main road, the anxious 
mother, looking out the cart path, saw the 
prints of Razzle’s and Dazzle’s hoofs in 
the sand. 

With a smothered cry Uncle Toby 

92 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


93 


turned Colonel into the path. As he did 
so, the noble animal tossed his head, and 
sniffed the air with wide opened eyes and 
nostrils. His instinct spoke, and he knew 
the children were in danger. He called 
to the ponies over and again, but no answer 
came; and then, out over the stubbles and 
threatening ruts, with head close to the 
ground, silent and swift he flew, till the 
clearing was reached, and the dear ones 
in sight. 

It was indeed with a thankful heart, 
that Uncle Toby gave the children into 
their mother’s arms. 

Dick was left just where he fell, on the 
banks of the bog, face down. And whether 
he rolled into the mire, sharing Dazzle’s 
fate, or had escaped from the village, was 
not known to us for many a day after. 
Alas! that he should ever have come into 
our lives again. 

After Razzle threw herself into the 
creek, she was guided by that strange 
instinct for safety, which horses always 
feel; and heading at once toward the ford- 


94 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


ing place, she swam safely ashore. She was 
utterly exhausted, and looked about her in 
search of Dazzle, crying pitifully. Uncle 
Toby soothed and petted her as best he 
could, but she would not be comforted, for 
she realized the sad truth all too well. 

At last she was induced to be led home 
very slowly, behind Colonel. The distance 
was not great, but she scarcely kept up 
till we turned her into the barn-yard. She 
was rubbed down, and given hot drinks, 
but nothing seemed to revive her. For 
days she lay with her eyes closed, or some- 
times looking around, she would whinny 
softly as though calling her lost mate back 
to her. But when she saw he did not come, 
she only closed her eyes again, refusing 
for hours either to open them, or to move. 

This was a sad experience for me, be- 
cause Razzle had not spoken to me during 
all these days of mourning. I had learned 
from the family what had happened, and 
I wanted very much to comfort her if it 
were possible. But how could I, if she 
would neither speak, nor look at me. And 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


95 


I grieved to see that she grew weaker 
each hour, and took less interest in life. 

Then one day when I had begun to fear 
the worst for my playmate, something 
happened which worked a joyous change. 

She had been lying asleep all the morn- 
ing, and the time had seemed endless to 
me. Toward noon she breathed so softly 
that I feared she had stopped altogether, 
and I crept close up to her to listen. Then 
I laid my face against hers, and spoke her 
name. For some time she seemed not to 
hear me, but finally a tremor shook her 
body, and opening her eyes she looked at 
me, first in a dazed sort of way, as if she 
did not know me, and then the old Light 
which belonged to Razzle’s eyes, began to 
creep back into them. My heart beat 
wildly for joy, but I did not speak, for 
I could not. And the silence which fell 
between us was broken by her. 

Dazzle has gone away from us, did 
you know it. Cap? It was Dick who killed 
him. You always hated Dick, and so did 
Dazzle. So have I, since— till now. 


96 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


I think I must have had a dream, Cap, 
for all the morning I have been passing 
through a strange, sweet experience, which 
I would like to have last for ever. For 
hours, it seemed to me, I was trotting un- 
harnessed, over fields and pastures, more 
beautiful than any pony could describe. 
No grass was ever so soft and green, no 
clover ever smelled so sweetly. The sun 
was bright and warm, though it neither 
burned me, nor made me blink. And all 
along the way, clear glittering water bub- 
bled from springs, which were made, I 
knew, to refresh thirsty, weary horses, 
who might be travelling this road. 

But I was not weary, even though I 
seemed to be travelling both far and fast. 
And though the grass, the clover, and the 
sparkling water, seemed each to be calling 
me to stop and taste its sweetness, yet not 
once did I slacken my pace, but kept on, 
on, in search of something, I knew not 
what. In all this journey there had not 
been a hill to climb, and not one mile of 
rough road. 


CAPTAIN JINKS 97 

“I did not wonder where I was, for 
some impulse kept me moving, with a joy 
that was almost maddening. Thus far I 
had not met a horse on the way; but sud- 
denly, as I emerged from a clump of pines, 
beneath which lay a soft carpet for tired 
feet, a pony was standing across the path 
in front of me. She spoke to me, ever so 
gently, calling me by name; and when I 
looked at her closely, I recognized my 
mother, who died when I was but four 
years of age. I had known her well. Cap, 
for I lived with her till after I was in 
harness. And it was she who taught me 
to be loving and kind. The meeting with 
her seemed perfectly natural, though I 
realized it was not this alone which I was 
seeking. Then she spoke to me: 

“ ‘ Come nearer, dear, and let me see 
you. Yes, it is my own little Eazzle, the 
same I used to know and love in Uncle 
Toby’s pasture. But why are you here, 
child? The way is not yet ready for you. 
Even Dazzle, who has travelled for days. 


98 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


is still seeking his place of rest, though 
he is nearly there.’ 

Ah! now I knew,— I was hunting for 
Dazzle. You see we were brother and 
sister. Cap, and nothing has ever separ- 
ated us before. But mother was speaking 
again. 

^ I do not think you realize where you 
are, Razzle. And I must break it gently 
to you,— for this is horse’s Heaven. 

‘ Men do not believe in a Heaven for 
animals, but when you go back, you may 
tell them that God never created a soul to 
perish. You may tell them too, that he 
has given horses, souls. And after we 
have worked without a murmur, for our 
masters, till our bodies are worn out, and 
we are ready to die, God has provided this 
place of rest for our spirits. Perhaps 
when men realize that we are able to 
think and feel like themselves, they will 
be kinder to us, if we fail, either from 
illness, or lack of strength, to do the work 
they ask of us. 

^ But as I said before, Razzle, you are 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


99 


not yet ready for rest. Dazzle, who is 
safe, will be waiting here for you till 
your work is finished. Go back and be 
happy.’ 

“ Then before I could speak, or ask one 
of the thousand questions arising in my 
mind, she had trotted away so lightly and 
rapidly, that she was beyond recall. I 
tried to follow her, but something com- 
pelled me to turn back over the same 
beautiful road I had travelled in the morn- 
ing. 

“ It was you who awoke me. Cap, and 
I was very sorry at first. But now I am 
glad, for I shall get well, and we will play 
together again, you and I.” 


CHAPTER IX 


After this Razzle grew stronger each 
day. We were very happy to see her like 
her old self once more, and we realized 
that though she missed Dazzle sadly, she 
was reconciled to his death. 

We were glad also to be rid of Dick, 
for life had been very hard with so wicked 
a master. Razzle was not harnessed again 
that year but she continued to live with 
me in the pasture, all the rest of the sea- 
son. As the summer wore on, I think we 
all missed Dazzle far more than we would 
have imagined, considering his cross tem- 
per. But I have learned that the break- 
ing up of old ties, even if they are not the 
happiest, is hard for us all. And I once 
heard Uncle Toby say, that horses, like 
men, never seem to develop their best 
traits of character, till after they had 
passed away. 

lob 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


101 


Now tlist tile harvest had come, our 
master was often at the farm and Colonel 
was becoming a welcome visitor to Eazzle 
and me. He was a great awkward bay, 
as I think I have told you before, but his 
good qualities were so many, and he 
showed such unusual kindness to us, that 
we were growing to love him. I used 
often to wonder why he seemed to love 
us so much, when we were such silly little 
creatures, compared to him. But I believe 
now that we seemed like his own children, 
and he took a genuine delight in playing 
with us. 

Sometimes when we did not know he 
was in. the pasture, he would startle us 
by a loud whinny, and then we would see 
him come tearing down the river bank, 
digging up the turf with his great hoofs, 
and threatening in his speed to pitch head 
first into the water, or to fall upon and 
crush us, with his weight. But nothing 
of the kind ever happened; so we learned 
not to fear, and after a time, to wait for 
his signal to join him in a frolic. 


102 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


It was his habit when he had drunk long 
and deeply from the river, to stand a mo- 
ment looking at us as if he would say: 

Now, children, now for our game of 
catch! ’’ And then with a startling snort, 
he would gallop away up the hill, and 
over the pasture. He seemed to make the 
great willow, one goal, and the pasture 
bars another, challenging us to catch if 
we could. But when our old friend Billy 
came out to join us, the game grew excit- 
ing. For Billy, barking all the time, ran 
now at our heels nipping them gently, or 
again catching one of us by the tail, he 
would hold fast while we dragged him 
from one goal to the other. 

These were merry days. But soon the 
harvesting was done, and nothing but 
dreary brown stubbles were left in the 
fields. Then the children went to town 
to school. Uncle Toby took Colonel home, 
and Razzle and I were lonely indeed. 

That was a cold hard winter. There 
were days when it seemed as though 
the sun would never again shine on the 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


103 


dead, white world around us. Days when 
Razzle and I, together with the sheep, 
stood huddled under our shed from morn- 
ing till night, trying in vain to keep warm. 
But in all this dreariness, there was one 
bright spot, toward which we had learned 
to turn our faces, and this was Billy’s 
daily visit. 

A young man from the village had been 
hired by Uncle Toby, to keep the farm 
house open, and to take care of the cattle. 
There was something strange about this 
boy. He never seemed to think straight 
like other persons I had known, and he 
gave his heels no end of trouble because 
of it. If he intended bringing meal and 
salt to us, after getting both ready, he 
would be sure to walk away leaving one 
behind him, never remembering it tiU he 
reached the camp, when without a word 
he would return for the forgotten article. 
After a while Billy, who seemed to realize 
that he was not like other people, decided 
to keep a careful watch over him. And so 
he did, for whenever he saw that Walter 


104 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


had forgotten anything, he would bark at 
his heels till he was glad to turn back. 
But the boy was kind to us, and though 
he looked far from strong, he took good 
care of us, and was faithful to our master. 

And so it came about that Billy’s anxi- 
ety for Walter, brought them together to 
visit us each morning. I shall never for- 
get how he stirred up our little company, 
as he darted among us, barking at the 
sheep and chasing them down the hill to 
water, where he usually left them to come 
back for Razzle and me. And while we 
ran at his bidding, he was leaping upon 
us with delight, kissing us on the nose, or 
in the eye, wherever he chanced to hit. 

At length there came a change in the 
days, and a new light fell from the sim, 
warming us and making our hearts glad. 
Spring was coming. Already the ice in 
the river was breaking up, and now away 
in the creek, I could hear the rush of the 
angry water cease, as though it stopped 
its mad tumbling, just to gather new force, 
and then with a roar which always fright- 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


105 


6iied me, it would throw itself leaping and 
foaming against the great blocks of ice, as 
if it were trying to break through and 
make its escape. 

But one bright morning when the odour 
of spring was so strong in the air, that 
it made us very happy, a cloud came upon 
us; it was small at first, but it thickened 
and darkened, till there seemed no way 
out of it, no light anywhere. 

On this particular morning when we 
were waiting joyously for Billy and Wal- 
ter to bring our food to us, we became 
conscious that the sun was climbing high, 
our stomachs were very empty, and yet 
they had not come. I could see that Eaz- 
zle was growing anxious, and when she 
started toward the farmyard, I followed 
her, quite as anxious as she. When we 
reached the bars, we saw with wonder, 
that the curtains were all drawn over the 
windows of the little farm house, and that 
the red door was still closed. No sign of 
life anywhere, and no sound of either Wal- 
ter or Billy. We thrust our noses between 


106 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


the bars and whinnied loudly, but we re- 
ceived no answer to our calls. 

The place seemed deserted, and so were 
we. Eazzle thought it best to remain near 
the house, for somehow her instinct told 
her that Walter was sick, and if we kept 
a sharp lookout, we might be of some help 
to him, or he to us. But where was Billy, 
and why had he not barked when he heard 
our voices? 

The hours dragged slowly, but at last 
the night came, and then the morning. 
All that day, helpless and cold, we watched 
the house, but we got no signal from the 
missing ones. Only heartless windows, 
with drawn curtains, and the old red door 
I was learning to despise again, stared at 
us when the second night closed over us. 

The snow had melted away in spots 
where the sun lay warmest on the top of 
the hill, and here we were able to nibble 
a few brown blades of grass. These kept 
us from starving, though when the third 
day dawned, we went early, but with long- 
ing hearts, back to the pasture bars. 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


107 


Razzle neighed loudly and I followed 
her example. The sheep too were bleat- 
ing pitifully, but the inmates of the little 
house seemed as deaf as ever to our needs. 
But no, for listen. Did not a faint bark 
from within come in answer to our calls, 
and was not that Billy’s black nose push- 
ing itself under the curtain? 

Yes, for there was the bark again, weak, 
but surely his; then the back door was 
opened, and Billy crept slowly out, drag- 
ging a bag of com behind him. He acted 
very feeble, and it was hard for us to see 
him trying to reach the bars with his 
load, for we were unable to help him. But 
at last he dropped it where Razzle could 
pull it imder the fence and get the com 
out on the groimd. 

All the while we were filling our empty 
stomachs, BiUy lay pantiug, just outside 
the bars, quite worn out with his efforts. 
But at last he told us that both he and 
Walter had been very ill— perhaps they 
were poisoned from something they had 
eaten, he did not know; but Walter was 


108 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


still in great pain, and help must be 
brought to him. 

During all these days of suffering I had 
not seen one person drive by the house. 
I spoke of this to Razzle, and she an- 
swered with evident fear, that she believed 
the water in the creek had carried away 
the bridge. 

Soon after we had eaten, Billy went 
back to the house, and it was near noon 
when I saw him trotting slowly across the 
field toward town. There was a small tin 
box tied to his collar, and Razzle said he 
sometimes took messages to Uncle Toby in 
that box. And this was what he was 
doing now. Sick and weak as he was, 
he had started for the village because Wal- 
ter had told him to go, and he realized 
the need of help as much as Walter did. 

Razzle turned to watch him out of sight, 
and I read in her eyes the same question 
that was haunting me, and it was this: 
If the bridge at the creek were down, 
would Billy be strong enough to swim 
across? 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


109 


All that afternoon we stood at the bars 
like two old worn out horses, with lopped 
sides and blinking eyes, waiting to see 
Billy come home. 

I wish it might be possible for me to 
make men understand how much of real 
fear and suffering come into a horse’s life. 
Most of us give our masters love, obedi- 
ence, and faithful service, whether or not 
they merit it. But few of them ever seem 
to realize, that a cross word hurts us just 
as deeply as the cut of a whip; and our 
drivers never seem to consider how we 
suffer from fear, when our instinct tells 
us of dangers ahead which they cannot 
see. 

On this particular afternoon it was 
surely instinct talking to Eazzle and me; 
and in some unaccountable way, it told us 
that if Billy got a message to Uncle Toby, 
he would try to reach the farm that night 
in spite of the swollen waters of the creek. 
But at last when the day was almost gone, 
an idea came to me, and I started at once 
to act upon it. 


no 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


I have wondered many times since, why 
it was that when I took the path across 
the pasture to the creek, Razzle turned 
to do so at the same moment. Was she 
led by the same thought which was lead- 
ing me? 

As we climbed the hill, the twilight be- 
gan to fall, and when we reached the creek 
it was almost dark, yet our horses’ eyes 
could see clearly, that our worst fears were 
true. A part of the bridge had been swept 
away and pieces of board and logs, were 
floating between the great blocks of ice 
that hit against them with a dull thud, 
crowding them one upon the other, and 
then freeing them again, as the current 
bore them on down the river. 

Just at the point where the bridge was 
broken, the water was shallow and very 
narrow, and the ice and floating logs had 
so nearly choked the current, that they 
almost formed a bridge of themselves. But 
Razzle, who had watched the breaking up 
of this stream for years, knew that great 
danger lay in this narrow spot. For at 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


111 


any hour the melting snow and ice from 
the north, might raise the waters of the 
creek into a raging torrent that would 
carry everything before it. 

We stood upon the bank looking at the 
scene with sinking hearts, and dreading 
Uncle Toby’s coming, yet fearing that he 
would not come, when we thought of the 
sick boy at home. But we were not left 
long in doubt, for through the fast f allin g 
night, we could plainly see old Colonel 
picking his way over the mud and ice of 
the road beyond the creek, and we knew 
that Uncle Toby was holdiug the reins. 

It seemed an age to us from the time 
we first saw his broad, tall form, till he 
stopped on the other side of the creek. 
We were glad when we saw him get out 
of the wagon and look closely at the 
broken bridge; but our hearts stood still 
when we saw him climb into the carriage 
again, and gather up the reins. For a 
moment he seemed to be imdecided, and 
we heard him talking in a low voice; but 
before we knew what he was doing, he had 


112 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


struck Colonel with the whip, and the 
noble beast, understanding every word his 
master spoke, sprang forward into the 
waters of the creek. There was no time 
then, even for fear. Razzle came and stood 
close to me, but neither of us remembered 
to whinny, to let brave Colonel know we 
were near. We knew if he would ford the 
stream, he must do it quickly; but how 
could he ever escape the blocks of ice 
in his way? Then when nothing but fail- 
ure seemed sure, to our great wonder, we 
saw him rear on his hind legs, and striking 
hard with his fore feet he came down 
upon a block of ice with such tremendous 
force, that it broke into pieces and went 
whirling away down the stream. Next a 
floating board was trampled under foot, 
another ice cake broken, and so on, till 
before we could get our breaths. Colonel 
had reached the end of the broken bridge, 
and landed Uncle Toby safely. 

Close to the bridge there were some bars 
opening into the road, and to these Razzle 
and I made our way at once, hoping to 



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CAPTAIN JINKS 


113 


get near enough to give Colonel a word 
of praise for his brave work, and to let 
Uncle Toby know how glad we were to 
see him. So we stuck our noses over the 
bars and neighed merrily. They were both 
surprised, and our master let us out into 
the road, allowing us to follow him back 
to the farm house. This was exactly what 
we wanted, for the path across the pas- 
ture was dark with bushes, deep with mud, 
and much longer than the road. 

We had been so anxious about Uncle 
Toby during the time Colonel was cross- 
ing the creek, that we forgot all about 
Billy, though we knew he must have 
reached the village with the note, or mas- 
ter would not be here now. But when 
Uncle Toby threw back his lap robe, and 
jumped from the carriage, we saw Billy 
curled up on the seat fast asleep. He was 
utterly worn out, and we afterward 
learned that when he had crept into Uncle 
Toby’s house, he was too weak even to 
say hulloa, but just rolled over on his 
back in such a way, that the tin box bobbed 


114 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


up and spoke for Mm. And Billy knew 
there was no need for words. He had 
been obliged, sick as he was, to swim 
across the creek, and he still sMvered from 
the cold and wet. 

Uncle Toby’s first act was to wrap him 
in a blanket, and carry him tenderly into 
the house where he was warmed and fed, 
till he forgot to be sick or troubled any 
more. 

Walter, too, was nursed back to health, 
and we were all fed and petted and grew 
as happy as though no suffering had ever 
come to us. I have often wondered since, 
why the memory of all we endured in 
those days of hunger, seemed to die so 
soon, as if our pride in Billy and Colonel 
had swallowed up all the sadness, leaving 
notMng but the joy of their brave deeds. 


CHAPTER X 


Several weeks after our rescue, when 
the ice had given place to green grass and 
flowers, I was feeding on the hill close to 
the great willow. I had spent the morn- 
ing by the river, but now as I was ma- 
king my way to the shed for mid-day 
shelter, I stopped just to nibble some 
clover heads near by. I don’t know how 
it ever happened that I had neglected such 
a bunch of clover, before, for it was very 
red, and so full of honey that I thought I 
would try another behind the door which 
looked just like it. 

I walked along as demurely as an old 
horse could possibly do, but as I passed 
the door, reaching out my head to nip the 
blossoms, there was a sudden stampede 
from inside, and three little fairies charged 
full upon me, shouting: Peek-a-boo! ” 

115 


116 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


as they sprang close to my face and 
stopped short. Of course they frightened 
me, and I jumped; and since this was 
what they wanted, they all screamed with 
laughter. 

I had not played much of late with Bun- 
tie and Boo. It seemed to me they had 
been away from home, for I had scarcely 
seen them since the day of Dazzle’s death. 
I cannot tell you how glad I was to have 
my little play-mates back again. Boo 
threw his arms around my neck, hugging 
me and nearly smothering me with kisses, 
till Bimtie pulled him away saying: 

“ You’re dreadfully impolite. Boo! 
Stand aside and let Betty see Cap. Isn’t 
he a dear, Betty? You may ride him and 
drive him while you are here, and he will 
be a good boy, will you not, Cappie? ” 

I tried to look my best, for I realized I 
was being introduced to a stranger. And 
such a stranger! In after years, this little 
Betty became very dear to me. But never 
did she look more beautiful, than when 
I first saw her on that morning, with the 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


117 


sun in her yellow hair, and on her yellow 
dress, and her eyes looking up into mine, 
with a delight which I had never seen be- 
fore, shining in their depths. 

I learned afterwards that this was her 
first introduction to a pony, and that it 
made one of her fondest dreams come true. 
She was another granddaughter of Uncle 
Toby’s, and they told me that she lived 
away in Massachusetts by the sea. I little 
thought then, that some day I should love 
her grand old ocean, and play with her 
for hours on its sandy beach. Indeed I 
had no more thought for the future than 
other horses have. We have always re- 
membered yesterday, we know what we 
want to-day; but we have not yet become 
wise enough to worry about to-morrow! 

Betty was standing at a distance, watch- 
ing me, and looking very happy, though 
she seemed afraid to come nearer. I had 
not believed it possible to love any one 
more than I did Buntie and Boo, but there 
was something in this little stranger, that 
seemed to make all the good there was in 


118 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


me, go out to meet her at once. As she 
stood there she looked so timid and pretty, 
that I would have done any thing in the 
world she might have asked of me, had it 
been in my power. But she asked noth- 
ing; she just looked, till I was so eager 
to get acquainted with her that I began 
to stand on my hind legs, and waltz all 
around the children. Then I bowed to 
Betty, and offered to shake hands, but she 
only grew frightened and ran away. 

Both children laughed at this, and while 
Boo jumped on my back, Buntie came and 
threw her arms around my neck. 

You dear old Cappie,’’ she said, I 
haven’t seen you do your tricks since Dick 
went away, and I had forgotten all about 
them. You are a good boy to show off 
for Betty, but you must not frighten her.” 
Then turning to Betty she said: 

Come here, dear, and get acquainted 
with Cap; for we are going to town with 
him this morning, and you must not try 
to drive him while you are afraid.” 

After this Betty gathered courage to 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


119 


come and pat me, and she puUed some 
grass for me to eat from her hand. When 
she spread out her little white palm, it 
was as soft as the baby chicken’s feathers, 
and I was afraid to eat from it, lest I 
should bite her finger instead of the grass. 
So I just opened my lips and drew in the 
grass with my breath, as gently as I could, 
not even touching her hand with my teeth. 
She seemed to understand, and laughed 
gaily, so after this we were friends. 

When Walter harnessed me into the 
cart, the three children and Billy piled 
in, and away we went down the hill and 
over the new bridge across the creek, with 
Billy barking, and Betty and Buntie and 
Boo laughing so loudly, and talking so fast, 
that I couldn’t help trying to make the 
patter of my feet keep time with the music 
of their voices. A light breeze blew my 
mane all over my face, while my tail was 
sweeping the ground when I trotted down 
hill, and this made Betty laugh all the 
louder. 

That was a merry day, and a pony never 


120 CAPTAIN JINKS 

worked with greater joy tkan I did on tkat 
morning. 

Wken we reaeked tke village, Uncle 
Toby came out, and taking off my karness, 
ke tied me in tke back yard on a tempting 
piece of lawn, wkich I bad grave doubts 
about. And tke doubts grew into a cer- 
tainty wken I tried to nibble the grass; 
for I found my kalter so short that I 
couldn’t stretch my neck long enough to 
reach even tke tallest blades. This was 
a hard place to put a pony in, with noth- 
ing to do but stand and sniff tke sweet 
grass that was denied him. But just as 
I closed my eyes with a firm resolve to 
spend tke time in sleep. Boo came running 
into tke yard, and taking up a long rubber 
pipe from tke walk, ke began playing with 
it; curling it around bis waist, jumping 
upon it with both feet, and cutting up 
suck pranks as only Boo was capable of. 

I was not sleepy any more, for I saw 
tke mischief bubbling over in his eyes, 
and then there was a swishing as though 
a river had suddenly started up in tke 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


121 


yard, and a bellow from behind that made 
me jump clear of the groimd. When I 
looked around, the water was pouring out 
of that rubber pipe in a white stream, and 
hitting against the side of a poor little 
Jersey calf that was standing just within 
the barn door. He was blatting with 
fright, and pulling at his rope, trying in 
vain to get away. But Boo seemed to 
think that he needed a bath, and kept the 
water steadily playing upon him, till I 
thought I would interfere by neighing. 
I was sorry I did so, for before I could 
blink, the stream of water was turned on 
me, hitting me between the eyes, running 
down over my nose into my mouth and 
drenching my mane. All this time. Boo 
kept up a laugh of wicked glee, that made 
me feel far from happy; and I was just be- 
ginning to hope that he would not forget 
the calf too long, when the back door 
opened, and a woman came out on the 
steps, clapping her hands and shouting: 

‘‘ You wicked boy, to abuse that poor 
pony like that. Stop it this minute.’’ 


122 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


And Boo did stop it, but be turned the 
stream from my face, full into bers, and 
sbe gasped for breatb and got behind tbe 
door. Boo laughed all tbe louder then, 
while tbe water swished down tbe screen, 
and lay in puddles on tbe floor. By this 
time I was laughing too, for it seemed so 
much more fun to see her get tbe soaking, 
than to take it myself. Just here. Uncle 
Toby put bis bead out of a window, and 
opened bis mouth to speak. But tbe in- 
tended words were never spoken, for Boo 
sighted him, and bis mouth was fllled with 
water before any sound could come out. 
It seemed to me that I beard tbe calf 
laughing then, and I beard Uncle Toby 
say: 

“ WeU, we’ll see about this! ” Tbe next 
I knew, be was creeping around tbe side 
of tbe bouse, and just as tbe stream struck 
me again full in tbe face, it suddenly 
stopped, for Uncle Toby bad turned off 
tbe water, and Boo was left looking at 
the empty nozzle, with a surprise that 
took all tbe laugh out of bis eyes. 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


123 


If Miss Jersey calf and I were wet, then 
Boo was wetter. His hair hung down his 
back, and around his face in limp strings 
that looked like the old hen’s tail-feathers, 
when she has been caught out in a shower. 
I heard Buntie tell him that he would 
have to go into Uncle Toby’s bed, and stay 
there till he was dry. 

But when night came, and I trotted back 
to the farm with Billy, and Betty, and 
Buntie and Boo, all Boo’s naughtiness was 
forgotten. We were just as happy, and 
he was just as dear as he had been in the 
morning. 


CHAPTER XI 


Betty stayed at the farm all summer, 
and the day I have just told you about, 
was like many a long bright one that fol- 
lowed. I am growing into an old pony 
now, but as I tell my story the years roll 
away, and the joys of those blessed sum- 
mer days come back to me, and I live them 
all over again, as though it were only yes- 
terday that they passed. 

The greatest happiness in my life was 
given me by the love I felt for my little 
play-mates. I call them such, for Betty 
had grown to love me so much, that nearly 
all their games were shared with me. 
Razzle must have been lonely that sum- 
mer, for when I was out of harness I was 
usually left to graze in the yard so I might 
be near Betty. 

The children played croquet a great deal 

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125 


on the back lawn, and after I had watched 
the game a few times, I began to take an 
interest in a ball that had a bright red 
band running around it. One day it came 
so close to me that I smelled it all over, 
and then I tried to put my hoof on it. 
I didn’t know it moved so easily, but when 
my foot slipped off and it went rolling 
across the croquet ground, the children 
laughed as though I had done something 
very wise. 

After this it became a part of their play 
to roll the balls to me; and I soon under- 
stood that whenever a ball went too far 
away for them to play upon it, they waited 
till I went and rolled it back again. Then 
they called me their Mascot,” and the 
name made me very proud, though even 
now I cannot tell you why it did, because 
I have never learned what it meant. 

That was a busy summer too, as well as 
a merry one. There were berries to pick 
long distances away, and flowers to gather; 
there were basket picnics in far off groves; 
and in each of these I shared the chil- 


126 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


dren’s joys. Sometimes I drove them to 
the river where they left me tethered to a 
tree, while they went in the little steamer, 
and I watched the white sails gliding up 
and down the stream, or waited for the 
soimd of their voices coming back to me. 

Uncle Toby was usually with them on 
these trips, and his was always the first 
voice I heard when the boat came in sight. 
I had never quite ceased to be sorry for 
my wickedness when Dick was with us, 
and I knew that my master was proud of 
my tricks. So when I heard him speaking 
to me from the deck, I tried to atone for 
the past and to please him at the same 
time, by bowing to the people with him, 
or waltzing on my hind legs; doing every 
thing in fact that the length of my hitch- 
ing rope would allow. Somehow master’s 
voice had become a call to show all my 
good qualities, and he seemed to love me 
more because of my love for him. 

After the steamer had stopped at the 
pier, and the children came running out 
to meet me, our little party would head 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


127 


toward home, Colonel taking my mistress 
and Uncle Toby, while I trotted on behind 
as fast as ever I could, trying to keep them 
in sight. 

During those happy days I had grown 
to love Betty far more than I realized. I 
loved her even better than the other chil- 
dren. I cannot tell you why, I only know 
that it was so. 

I remember well how she cried once, 
when Uncle Toby was taking me home 
with him and leaving her behind. How 
she wound her arms around my neck, 
clinging to me till they were obliged to 
tear her away. And then as I trotted out 
of the yard, she flung herself on the ground 
crying pitifully. 

It required great strength of will to 
keep on down the hill, and over the creek, 
when I could still feel her soft little arms 
around my neck. But Uncle Toby’s hand 
was firm on the rein, and I hurried as fast 
as I could to get away, for there was some- 
thing in her voice that was calling my 
heart back to her. 


128 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


During all the months since Dick left 
us, I cannot remember that I had been 
guilty of a single vicious act. I had taken 
the children every where, saving to the 
railroad station, for their mother steadily 
refused to allow me driven there. I had 
often seen the trains in the distance, when 
their black smoke and mad rushing sounds 
frightened me terribly. But I did not 
run, for I tried to obey Razzle, by thinking 
only of the children’s safety. 

The next morning after I went home 
with Uncle Toby, Walter brought Betty 
to town to spend the day. There was a 
little boy near her age, living next^ door, 
and she had not been playing with me long 
when I spied him looking at her through 
a hole in the fence. Betty did not see him 
at first, so after a while he got braver, and 
climbed into the branch of a tree, hanging 
over our heads. 

I know she saw him then, for she started 
and looked up, but she made no further 
sign, and worked on demurely braiding 
my mane, and tying her own blue hair 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


129 


ribbon into my forelock. It switched into 
my eyes, but I tried to bear it for her sake. 
After she had finished my toilet, she sat 
down on the grass beside me, and began 
weaving a wreath of leaves which she fas- 
tened together with tiny stems. But she 
took no notice of the boy in the tree. 
Somehow I felt sorry for him, because I 
knew that everybody loved Betty, and 
wanted her to love them. But after a 
time, when he got tired waiting, he began 
to whistle and dropped a stone down on 
her head. Then she looked up, and when 
their eyes met they both laughed, though 
I did not see a thing to laugh at. But I 
have noticed that it seems to be a habit 
among men, to laugh at nothing. 

Well, after Betty smiled at him, he 
dropped down from the limb and asked 
her if she were going to take me out for 
a drive that morning. “ For,’’ said he, 

if you are, perhaps you will let me go 
with you. A little girl always needs a 
man to drive.” 

Betty seemed pleased at this, and he 


130 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


looked so proud and tried to be such a big 
man, that I switched my tail in his eyes, 
just to see how that would affect him. I 
didn’t wait long to learn, for he cried so 
loudly that Walter came running out to 
ask who was killed. I am sure this was 
very ugly of me, and I knew all the time 
that I was listening to the bad voice Raz- 
zle called the tempter. But I felt so cross 
I could not help it; then too, I cannot re- 
member that I heard any other voice all 
that morning. There must be something 
very strange about these voices, for when 
you have listened to one a few moments, 
the other always stops speaking. 

I think my naughty act only brought 
about just what I did not want, because 
Betty pitied the boy so much for being 
hurt, that she had me harnessed at once 
and took him out to drive. To be sure she 
said she was going only to Uncle Toby’s 
store, but I was very unhappy, and be- 
grudged him even this little pleasure. 

It was stiU morning. The sun was shin- 
ing, the birds were singing in the branches 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


131 


over our heads, and I suppose that little 
boy had the same feeling of happiness I 
have often felt on such a day; and per- 
haps he did not know any better than I 
what it meant. But he thought he did, 
and he believed it had something to do 
with the little girl sitting by his side. 

I shall never forget how angry I was 
when I heard him say; 

You’d better let me have the reins, 
Betty, it’s always a man’s place to drive. 
Then you know if anything happens, I 
shall be able to take care of you.” 

He was such a little milk and water 
chap, scarcely taUer than my back, and 
the idea of his taking care of Betty made 
me feel so wicked, that I decided to give 
him a chance to try. As soon as he took 
the reins I began walking all over the 
road, because there was not a pull, to tell 
me where I was expected to go. For a 
long time I was moving so slowly that I 
could hear everything behind me, but 
neither of them spoke. 

The stillness seemed strange to me. I 


132 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


thought they must have some serious 
trouble on their minds, and I began to 
fear it was my naughtiness. But at last 
the boy coughed and Betty giggled. I 
heard him try to brace his feet against the 
dasher, but his legs were so short he could 
not do it, and the feet slipped off. Then 
he said: 

“ Say, Betty, I like you! ” 

I tried to listen for her answer, but it 
was only another giggle. I didn’t know 
where to go, so I stopped short, and turn- 
ing around to look at them, I saw him sit 
up closer to her: 

“ Say, Betty, I like you better than any 
girl I know! Do you like me? Won’t you 
answer me? ” 

And then she did: “ So do I like 
you, Willie, better than any other girl I 
know.” 

It was not much to say, yet it pleased 
me so, that I snorted and ran back to 
Uncle Toby’s house as fast as I could 
go. 

Surely the Pates were against my being 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


133 


good that day, for just as the house was 
in sight, I saw a man coming towards me 
leading a huge, black bear, that was dan- 
cing aU over the road. My blood seemed 
to leap to my head, and I was so fright- 
ened I could not pass that monster. I do 
not know why I hated him so, but the very 
smell of him made me frantic. 

If some one would only draw a rein to 
tell me what to do! But Willie ^s manly 
hand seemed very weak now, and the lines 
were so loose they dangled around my legs. 
I started to run back, and then I felt Bet- 
ty’s strong little hands on the reins, and 
she shouted: 

Whoa, Cap, you naughty boy. Do you 
want to kill Betty? Be quiet now.” 

This was enough for me. I was thor- 
oughly ashamed at having forgotten her 
safety, and I soon calmed down and began 
to walk like a sober-minded horse. After 
we stopped in Uncle Toby’s yard, I got 
up courage to turn and look at them, and 
I saw Betty still holding fast to the reins, 
while Willie, leaning back in the cart, was 


134 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


hanging on to the tip ends of them, with 
all his manly might. I don’t know now 
why I so disliked that boy, but I am glad 
to this day that I frightened him. 


CHAPTER Xn 


Wien tie trees put on tieir sunset col- 
ours again, I iad begmi to iope Betty 
would stay witi us for ever. But one 
nigit sie came out to tie bars witi an 
apple for me to eat, and wien I iad taken 
it from ier iand, sie suddenly tirew ier- 
self upon my neck and burst into tears. 

It broke my ieart to see ier cry, and I 
wanted to speak to ier and tell ier iow 
muci I loved ier, and iow sorry I was 
about tie wicked thing tiat was troubling 
her. I ittle guessed it was me sie was 
crying for. But after a while wien sie 
grew calmer and could speak, sie told me 
something which made me feel like a poor 
old horse left out in a blizzard, witi no 
shelter and no corn. 

Betty was going home to-morrow, dear 
sweet little Betty! After tie morning, I 

135 


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CAPTAIN JINKS 


should never watch the sun playing in her 
yellow hair, nor hear her happy laugh as 
she ran out to meet me. It would not be 
true to say that I realized just these 
thoughts, but something in her voice gave 
me these lonely fears, which grew into a 
truth after she was gone. 

In the morning, much to my surprise^ I 
was harnessed to go to the station. It was 
Betty’s last ride, and she must take it with 
me. Walter was to drive me; and if I was 
surprised at being told I was going to the 
station, I was much more so, when I saw 
him appear with Billy tied to a string, and 
trotting behind him. 

Now what had Billy done I would like 
to know, that he deserved to be led on 
the end of a string instead of running by 
my side as he usually did? Things were 
all going wrong to-day. I felt very sad 
when I went down the hill, and heard 
Betty saying good-bye ” to the stones 
along the way, to the sheep in the pasture, 
and then to the waters of the dear old 
creek, which flowed as placidly as though 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


137 


there were no heart breaks, or good-byes, 
in all the world. 

When we reached the station there was 
no train in sight, and I walked up to the 
platform with a brave heart. Walter 
helped Betty out of the cart, and when 
Billy followed her, I saw that she was 
holding fast to the string on his collar. 
Now what did this mean, and why did 
Billy cling so closely to her; had he grown 
to love her as I had, and was he afraid of 
losing her? 

Uncle Toby and the children were wait- 
ing for Betty at the further end of the 
station. I saw her run to them, kissing 
them over and over again, and then I 
heard the roar of her train coming in the 
distance. Nearer and nearer it drew, till 
I could see its ugly face staring at me, 
and smell the black smoke it was spitting 
out. I knew I could never stand still and 
let that frightful engine come close to me! 
But when I was most afraid, I saw Walter 
running from across the road, and I felt 
his hand on my bridle; and then, just that 


138 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


minute, Betty’s arms were thrown around 
my neck, and she was kissing me. Some- 
thing wet like a rain-drop fell on my face, 
and running down over my nose dropped 
into my nostril and tickled it. Then before 
I knew what was happening, Betty had 
run up the steps of that horrible train, 
and when it moved away Billy stood beside 
her in the vestibule. She was waving her 
hand to us and laughing, though her face 
was all done up in little puckers; and 
Billy was pulling so hard on the string to 
get away, that I hoped it would break and 
let him come back to us. But the cruel 
train roared its way out of the station, 
bearing our dear ones with it, leaving us 
nothing to do but go home and make 
the best of our loss. 

When Walter let down the bars and 
turned me into the pasture, Eazzle came 
to meet me. Somehow she understood my 
loneliness, for she tried to comfort me in 
every possible way. It was hard to talk 
about Betty and Billy at first, but after 
a little I learned that it did not hurt so 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


139 


much when I shared my troubles with her, 
as when I kept them all hidden away in 
the dark, by themselves. I remember I 
once heard Uncle Toby say, that when we 
saw things in the dark, they always seemed 
more frightful than they really were, be- 
cause they were so exaggerated in size. 

Eazzle told me that she had been at the 
bars when our mistress drove away that 
morning, and she heard her telling Boo not 
to cry for Billy, because dear little Betty 
had no pets, and she was such a good girl 
they were glad to give Billy to her. Then 
too, Betty was so heart-broken at leaving 
me, that Billy had been offered to console 
her. I was glad if Betty could be com- 
forted, but I could not help asking Razzle 
what was to comfort me? 

I did not see the children aU that day, 
tiU toward evening when we went up to 
the bars, Buntie and Boo both came out 
to play with us. I thought Buntie looked 
very unhappy, but I could not teU whether 
it was Betty or BiUy she most missed. 
And I must confess I scarcely knew my- 


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CAPTAIN JINKS 


self, which one had left my heart most 
empty. Though it did seem very strange 
not to see Billy running out to meet us, or 
to have him barking at our heels as was 
his wont to do, while he playfully drove 
us back to the big tree at bed-time. 

The little farm house seemed lonely that 
night, and I wished Betty had never come, 
if her going must leave the pasture and the 
yard so still. Everything was unnatural, 
and even the grass had lost its sweetness, 
when I tried to take a last nibble before 
going to sleep. 

It was not long after Betty went home, 
that the village school opened, and the 
children were obliged to go away from the 
farm. There was no one left with us but 
Walter, and I think he missed Billy quite 
as much as Razzle and I did. 

The fall merged into the winter, and once 
again we were called upon to drink from 
a little hole in the river, which Walter cut 
for us every morning. And again we saw 
the hills and fields covered with their cold, 
glittering dress, that plunged us knee-deep 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


141 


when we tried to walk, and kept us housed 
for days at a time. It seemed as if the 
wind blew the snow out of the sky, piling 
it in great white waves in front of our 
door, and even closing the windows of 
our hut with blinders so thick, and high, 
that not one of us could see through 
them, no matter which way we turned our 
heads. 

That was the dreariest winter Razzle 
and I ever spent together. The joys of 
the summer, had but made the contrasting 
loneliness of the winter harder to bear. 
We had learned to love Betty, and we 
missed her, but our hearts were yearning 
far more for Billy. There was no one now 
to nip our heels and make us trot down 
to the river, and no one to play tag with 
us when the ground was bare. The place 
was deserted, and we were as sober as 
two old, broken-down cart horses. 

But thus far I have never known any 
condition which did not change sooner or 
later. Happy hours seem to pass on, to 
make room for the sad ones, just as these 


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CAPTAIN JINKS 


cold days of ours at last gave place to 
warmth and sunshine. 

Then when the little blue flowers on the 
river bank opened their eyes and looked up 
at us, and the robins were swinging and 
singing on the branches of the big willow, 
Uncle Toby came out to the farm with 
Colonel and the children. 

There were no words which Razzle and 
I could speak, that would half express 
the joy we felt at seeing our dear ones 
again. But I am sure we made them im- 
derstand by our actions, which Uncle Toby 
said, spoke louder than words. 

Boo had grown tall during the winter, 
but he was just as dear and beautiful as 
ever. He climbed on my back at once, 
and laying his head on my neck remained 
more quiet and thoughtful than I had ever 
known him to, before. There was some- 
thing troubling him I was sure. And 
when I was wondering what it could be, he 
began to talk low with his mouth close to 
my ear: 

“ There’s lots of things that are not 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


143 


nice, happens to little boys, Cappie. You 
just ought to be glad you aren^t a little 
boy/’ 

I tried to make him imderstand that I 
knew what he was saying, and was sorry 
for him, as indeed I often had been. For 
it always seemed a pity to see him running 
around on two legs, when he could go so 
much farther and faster, if he had been 
given four. But still I belonged to him, 
and I was always glad to lend him my 
legs. 

I tried to show him this now, so I gal- 
loped away as fast as I could. But it was 
a wrong thing to do, for he was not hold- 
ing on, and he nearly fell when I started 
up so suddenly. 

After a little while he made me realize 
that he wanted me to stand still, and then 
he began talking again. 

‘‘ You see, Cap, there’s my old Betty 
teacher, she’s as cross, and snappy, as the 
mud turtles over there in the creek. Only 
she is not like them, because it’s when 
they snap their mouths together tight, that 


144 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


you get hurt the worst, if your fingers are 
in the way. But it^s when teacher’s mouth 
is open, that she hurts, and you’re likely 
to get snapped the hardest. I’ll be glad 
when school is done for the summer, and 
I’m not going back to-morrow, because I 
wiU not learn that old geography lesson! 
I tried for two days as hard as ever I 
could, and yesterday when I told her that 
a volcano was a great heap of love, which 
sometimes broke out into fiames, she 
laughed in my face and turned away. It 
is no use, Cappie, I don’t like her, and 
I will never be good to her again. I hate 
to be laughed at, so there! ” 

Poor little Boo, I was surprised to learn 
that he had his troubles too, but what 
could I do to help him? We had wan- 
dered some distance away from the bars, 
while we were talking, and now I heard 
master’s whistle calling us back to him. 
Boo still had his face down in my mane, 
so I moved very gently, lest I should make 
him fall. I had nearly reached the house, 
when Buntie sprang suddenly from behind 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


145 


a cliimp of bushes and threw her arms 
around my neck. She startled me, but 
I was walking so carefxiUy, that I did not 
even jump. Then she began whispering 
in my ear, and what she said made my 
heart thump so, that I stood quite still 
to listen: 

“ I am not coming out to the farm very 
early this summer, Cappie. But you must 
be a good boy just the same, and not get 
too lonely. You will have Boo and mamma 
here, but grandpa and I are going away. 
And just guess. Cap, where we are go- 
ing? ” 

Of course I looked stupid, for how could 
I guess, when I knew so little of the great 
world beyond the pasture bars, or our little 
village? Then laughing all the time she 
said: 

“Oh! you dear stupid old boy. I’ll tell 
you. We are going to Massachusetts to 
visit Betty and BiUy. I am so happy, I 
can hardly wait for the choo choo cars to 
carry me there. Only think. Cap, to see 
Betty and Billy! ” 


146 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


Then she let go of me, and rolled in the 
grass from sheer delight. 

The names of Betty and Billy made a 
great bunch rise in my throat that was 
hard to swallow over. And it grew still 
harder when I felt the water from Boo’s 
eyes silently dropping on my neck, for 
I understood that he wanted to visit the 
dear ones, too. Well, he and I would be 
left behind, so we must be good to each 
other. And I resolved to be such a happy 
playmate, that he could not fail to enjoy 
me. 

After this Uncle Toby came out to speak 
a kind word to me, and he told me just as 
Buntie had, that they were goiug to see 
Betty and Billy. He said he would tell 
them what a good little pony I had been 
since they left, and would give them my 
love, even though I had not offered to send 
it. Then he laughed, though I failed to 
see why. But he placed me in a very awk- 
ward position, and I longed to speak, more 
than I ever had in all my life. 


CHAPTER Xin 


It was a long time before I saw my 
master again. Indeed Razzle and I were 
eating the brown corn-stalks from the field 
when he and Buntie came back to us. I 
was overjoyed to see them, for the sum- 
mer had been long, without them. When 
Buntie hugged me, I could smell Billy so 
plainly on her clothes, that I whinnied 
thinking he must be near. But she told 
me presently that he was well and happy, 
and was living by a great, sparkling ocean, 
so beautiful that she would like to stay 
always beside it. She said that Billy had 
known her at once, and had rushed upon 
her with a joyful bark, lapping her face 
and hands lovingly. That Betty, too, was 
well, and they were very happy together. 

While Buntie was speaking, she took her 
arms from my neck and looked longingly 

147 


148 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


into my face. In spite of the fact that 
her voice sounded cheerful, there was some- 
thing about her that made me feel sad. 
And when she turned to meet master, who 
was coming toward us, I saw her wipe a 
tear-drop from her eye. 

Uncle Toby greeted me tenderly, though 
there was the same strange sadness in 
his face, that I had seen in Buntie^s. But 
when Razzle came from the grove on the 
hiU, and laid her nose in our master’s 
hand, he petted her gaily, and his voice 
sounded natural again. After they went 
into the house, and I told Razzle how sad 
they had seemed before she came, we fell 
to wondering if anything had happened 
to Betty or Billy, and they were keeping 
it from us. 

Then my companion, whom I had 
learned to love more than ever, since Daz- 
zle died, said to me: 

Cheer up, Cap, there is no use in bor- 
rowing trouble. Buntie said that our dear 
ones were well and happy. What more 
can we ask? ” But even while she spoke. 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


149 


her eyes looked worried, and I knew she 
feared as I did, that whatever was troub- 
ling Uncle Toby and Buntie, related in 
some way to me. 

For more than a week the children were 
with Razzle and me, almost constantly. 
I drove them out, or they rode us in the 
pasture; and though Boo was as full of 
mischief as ever, I could see that Buntie 
had something serious on her mind. 

At length one clear bright morning, 
when the wind was whirling its first gust 
of yellow leaves up the river, our master 
sought us as we were going down to 
drink. The water was cool and sweet, and 
we drank gratefully. I have always re- 
membered this, for it was a long, weary 
time, before I was permitted to drink once 
more from my own beloved river. 

When I lifted my head from the water. 
Uncle Toby surprised me by placing a 
halter upon me and leading me up to the 
barn. I do not think he ever did this be- 
fore, for I had always followed him will- 
ingly. If I sometimes played little tricks 


150 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


upon Walter, when he tried to catch me, 
they were only for mischief, and because 
I did not care to go with him. But I loved 
master far too well to run from him 

We found Colonel in the yard, hitched 
to a long-bodied wagon, and beside him 
stood a queer box-shaped thing, made of 
narrow strips of wood. 

Buntie and Boo came out, but when they 
saw me, they both burst into loud cries 
and ran back into the house, slamming the 
red door, behind them. I used to hate that 
door, hut in after years, I have longed 
many times to see it open, and let my old 
friends out to me. Even Walter looked 
sorry that morning; and you may imagine 
my surprise, when he grasped my halter, 
and tried to lead me into that box, which 
looked so much like a cage. I shall never 
forget Uncle Toby’s face when he saw that 
I refused to obey Walter. The tears were 
running down his cheeks, but he laid his 
hand ever so gently on my head, and spoke 
to me. “ Cap,” he said, “ be a good boy, 
and mind your master for the last time.” 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


151 


I could tell by his voice that his heart 
was breaking, so I tried to think what I 
could do to cheer him up. Ah! I knew, 
I would do my tricks. He had never failed 
to laugh at these; so I began standing on 
my hind legs, and holding out a hand for 
him to shake. But he only looked sadder 
at this, and coming nearer he said softly: 

“ Don’t be afraid, old boy, the crate will 
never harm you. It wiU only take you 
safely to your new home, to live with 
Betty and Billy.” 

So this was what it all meant. “ To 
live with Betty and Billy! ” At first my 
heart stood still for joy, and then it beat 
so loudly all the time they were nailing 
me into my cage, that I could scarcely hear. 
I only thought of seeing Betty and Billy 
once again. And not till they had lifted 
me into the wagon, and started down the 
road, did I begin to realize what it meant 
to say “ Good-bye ” to the only home I 
had ever known. 

,When Colonel neared the creek, I heard 
a gentle whinny, and looking out I saw 


152 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


Eazzle standing with her nose thrust over 
the bars, gazing at me with a frightened 
stare in her eyes; and then she whinnied 
again pitifully. I tried to answer her, 
but I had forgotten how to neigh. Then 
as ColonePs feet touched the bridge, I 
heard Razzle call in a happier voice, as 
if she would bid me cheer up, for master 
was sending me away, and it must be for 
the best. 

This helped a little, but oh! I felt as 
if I were drawing Colonel and the cart 
along the road myself, instead of his draw- 
ing me easily, without any effort of my 
own. For the load I carried was so heavy 
I could scarcely breathe. 

I shall not dwell upon the awful mo- 
ment when we reached the station, and I 
saw that great, black engine come rolling 
and puffing towards me. It was useless 
now to make any effort to escape, for I 
was snugly nailed away in that queer 
frame, which showed me the world through 
its slats, while they kept at a safe dis- 
tance from me. I think I rather liked the 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


153 


situation after all, for it gave me a feeling 
of safety to know that no one could come 
near enough to touch me. 

You may imagine my surprise then, 
when I saw Uncle Toby and Walter, lift 
me in their arms as if I had been a baby; 
and before I even guessed what they were 
doing, I was in a baggage car, box and 
all, and the engine was smoking its way 
out of the station. 

I shall never forget that moment. I was 
directly in front of the wide-open door, 
and I could see my master standing on the 
station platform, holding a big white cloth 
up to his eyes; while Walter who looked 
very sad, was watching me out of sight. 

I forgot that I was going to Betty and 
Silly) I thought only of the fields and pas- 
tures of Helendale, and of Razzle who was 
left so lonely there; of Buntie and Boo, 
the little friends of my life, and the grey- 
haired master, who was sending me away 
to make others happy. 

We had left the town far behind, and the 
train was running rapidly over a track 


154 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


which I knew would soon border the creek 
of Helendale. 

I caught a glimpse of the big willow, 
and when we rushed past the bars by the 
bridge, I saw Razzle standing exactly as 
we had left her, with her head over the 
top bar, looking down the road. And I 
knew she was waiting for me. 

Do you wonder that the forty-six hours 
in which I stood in that cramped position, 
seemed like a whole lifetime? My mind 
was sick with longing, and my legs ached 
because I could neither walk nor lie down, 
while the puffing and roaring of the engine 
nearly drove me frantic. Sometimes it 
stopped so suddenly that I am sure it 
would have thrown me on my knees, 
had it not been that my wooden frame 
fitted me so closely, I could not fall. 

The car was warm and made me feel 
very thirsty, though I cared little for food 
during that trip. If I could have eaten, 
there would have been no lack of good 
things to eat, for every man who came 
near me, seemed suddenly seized with the 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


155 


idea that I must be in need of food and 
drink. It was the train conductor first, 
who stopped in front of my cage. He 
looked at me kindly but silently for a 
minute, and then he said: 

My name is Captain Jinks. Please 
feed me, and give me a drink. Well, you 
shall have them both, my good little pony! ’’ 
and he tried to reach his fat hand between 
the slats to pet me. But it would not go 
through, and I was glad of it, because just 
at that moment I felt so cross, I know I 
should have nipped him. 

Imagine my surprise, then, to hear him 
call one of his men, and tell him that 
Captain Jinks must be fed and well cared 
for. Now how did he know my name, and 
who asked him to care for me? 

After this I was left alone for a short 
time, and while I was trying to gather my 
scattered senses, one of the passengers 
stopped to look at me, and then he said: 

My name is Captain Jinks. Please 
feed me and give me a drink.’’ And be- 
fore he had finished his remarks, a round- 


156 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


faced little woman came fluttering up 
behind him calling: 

“ William, William, are the chickens all 
right? ” Then her eye fell on me, and 
stopping short she immediately said: 
“ My name is Captain Jinks. Please feed 
me and give me a drink.” 

The words were scarcely out of her 
mouth, when the train man who had been 
called, came with a dish of corn and some 
water, which he pushed through a little 
door that I didn’t know I had, till that 
minute. But he closed it very quickly 
again, as though he feared I would run 
away; and then after looking steadily at 
me, as every one else had done, he said: 
“ My name is Captain Jinks. Please feed 
me and give me a drink.” 

Well, it seemed as though wonders would 
never end. How could it be that every 
person who came near me knew my name 
at once? And they aU thought I needed 
exactly the same thing— food and water! 

But at length after the little woman had 
found her chickens, she came back to me 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


157 


again. I couldn’t begin to tell you what 
she said, but I do remember that she made 
me happier, and that something in her 
voice was so gentle and loving, that it 
soothed me, much as Razzle or Uncle Toby 
would have done, had they been there with 
me. 

Then just as she was bidding me good- 
bye, she put her little hand through the 
slats, and taking hold of a piece of paper, 
which, though I had not noticed it before, 
was hanging from my mane, she read: 

“ My name is Captain Jinks. Please 
feed me, and give me a dr ink. ” 

She looked pleased and thoughtful as 
she read the words, and then she said: 

“ My dear, it was a good kind master 
who placed that tag in yoirr mane, and I 
wish I might know him.” 


CHAPTER XrV 


My little friend was gone and I was sad 
to lose her. But she had solved the mys- 
tery, and left me very much in douht, as 
to whether I was glad or sorry that Uncle 
Toby had told the whole world what my 
name was, and set them to nmning for 
com and water, to fill my poor homesick 
stomach. For food was the last thing I 
seemed to need. 

After a few hours passed, however, my 
fellow passengers seemed to take me for 
granted, and they stopped looking at me, 
turning their attention to other cages in 
the car, which held captives like myself. 
I had been so busy attending to my own 
troubles, that I had not noticed there 
were others as helplessly confined as I. 
But now, by twisting my neck a little, I 
could see at one side of me a smaller cage 
158 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


159 


than mine, which had its slats covered 
with wire netting. And in this cage a 
big, speckled mother-hen was clucking to 
her babies, hidden away under her wings. 
I thought she was selfish not to let them 
out so I might have a glimpse of their 
yellow feathers, for they would seem so 
like home to me! But I think she was 
afraid of losing her chicks, for if ever one 
ventured to peep out with a beady little 
eye, she always scolded and pecked at it, 
till it was glad to bob out of sight again. 
Then I remembered that these must be the 
chickens which my friend William and his 
dear little wife were looking for, and I 
was glad the speckled hen took such good 
care of them. 

By and by my neck became tired of 
twisting one way, and when I turned it 
the other way, I was surprised to find at 
that end of the car, a cage much larger 
than my own. I couldn’t see the top of 
it from where I lived, and at first I could 
not make out what was in it; but after 
a while the animal moved, and holding up 


160 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


her head, looked at me with great, tender 
eyes. Like Razzle^s. The glance went right 
to my heart, and I liked this new neigh- 
bour, even though I did not know what 
her name was, or where she came from. 

When she saw me watching her, she 
looked so friendly that I spoke to her, 
though I did not believe she would under- 
stand what I said. But she did, and an- 
swered my question: 

I wonder, you little horse, where you 
have been all your life that you never saw 
a deer. Why, we live in parks, and in the 
woods, everywhere. And when we are 
free, there is not an animal so happy, or 
fleet of foot, as we. Men chase and try 
to kill us, and they often succeed; and 
sometimes they catch us alive, and keep 
us in confinement, as they are keeping me. 
I have tried hard for liberty, but just when 
I have gained it, they take it from me 
again. Why, only recently, when I was 
being placed on board one of the large 
steamers, a side broke out of my cage, and 
I jumped through it into the lake. 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


161 


The water was clear and cool, and I 
forgot everything else, saving the one joy 
of freedom. Out in the lake opposite the 
steamer, there lay a tiny island, fringed 
with pine close to the water’s edge; and 
toward this I began to swim as rapidly as 
my stiff limbs would allow. My instinct 
told me the boat-hands would follow, and 
try to catch me; but if I could gain the 
shore of the island, and hide among its 
thick trees, I would be safe and free once 
more. The breath of the pines came over 
the water to meet me, and thrilling me 
with happy memories, seemed to put new 
life into my muscles, spurring me on till 
I sprang ashore, and was lost at once in 
the thicket. 

I had made a brave struggle for free- 
dom, and it should have been mine. But 
wicked men hunted me down, caught and 
caged me again, and here I am as you see! 
I don’t know what my fate is to be this 
time. I am trying hard not to wonder. 
But I cannot help feeling that if I could 
run wild and free in the woods once more. 


162 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


and drink from my own mountain brooks, 
earth would be heaven for me.” 

When she first stopped speaking, I was 
so full of her trouble that I could not find 
any voice to answer; though after a little 
I was able to tell her how very sorry I 
was for her, and how much I hoped she 
would one day be free again, in her native 
forests. 

But there was one thing that troubled 
me more than her sorrows, and this was 
the thought that men could be so wicked 
as those she had described. Thus far I had 
known but one evil man, and that was 
Dick. When I remembered him, a shiver 
of dread passed over me, and I hoped I 
might never see him again. 

While all these thoughts were running 
through my mind, I was startled by a loud 
squawk from the mother-hen. When I 
turned around, a huge grey cat, with 
gleaming eyes, was clawing the wires on 
Miss Biddy’s cage, and sticking her paws 
through after the baby chickens. 

For a few minutes there was such peck- 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


163 


ing and clawing, and squawking and meow- 
ing, that I even forgot the roar of the 
engine. Then a train man came and put 
pussy in her cage, fastening the door so 
she could not get out again. 

You will see there was plenty of excite- 
ment on that trip, yet as I said before, it 
seemed like a life-time. But at length we 
drew into a dark, covered building, where 
some men took us all out of the car, and 
put us on the platform of what seemed to 
be a station, as big as the whole world. 
Then I heard a lady say we were in Bos- 
ton, and I began to feel strangely excited, 
at the thought of seeing Betty and Billy 
again. 

It must have been an unusual thing for 
so many animals to be waiting there. A 
crowd gathered around us, and among 
them my little woman came to find her 
chickens. She looked very happy when 
she saw they were safe, but when she said 

good-bye ” to me, she left me in a fit 
of terror, for I heard her say to her Will- 
iam: 


164 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


“ It looks as though we were going to 
have a circus here, does it not? ” 

Now I had never heard the word, “ cir- 
cus,” spoken since the day I first saw 
Dick; and it recalled many unhappy 
memories, making me fear that he 
might step up any moment and lead 
me away. 

But it was only a trainman who came 
to me with a kind smile on his face; and 
caUing another like himself, they pro- 
ceeded to lift me into a new car. Por half 
an hour I heard the old engine snorting 
and roaring again, and then I was taken 
out of the train while it puffed away, leav- 
ing me alone on a station platform; for 
not one of my caged friends had come with 
me. 

Even here I had little time to be lonely, 
for women and children began to gather 
around my crate, talking baby talk to me, 
and feeding me candy. One little girl 
clapped her hands when she saw me, and 
shouted with delight: 

“Oh! mamma, did you ever see such 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


165 


blue eyes in a pony’s head, or such a nice 
long mane and tail? ” 

Of course this made me proud, though 
there was no chance to show my feelings, 
cramped up in a big box as I was. But 
just then some one parted the crowd, and 
coming close to me, called me by name in 
a tone so familiar, that I answered in a 
surprised whinny. And when I looked at 
him closely, I recognized Buntie and Boo’s 
papa, who had been sent by Uncle Toby 
to meet me. 

After letting me out of my prison, he 
put a halter on me, and I followed him 
to a stable near by, wondering all the way 
when I should see Betty and my beloved 
Billy again. 

I had never been much acquainted with 
the children’s father, for as I told you be- 
fore, he was away from home in the sum- 
mer. But he was very kind and gentle 
with me now, and the freedom of the box- 
stall, together with the dinner and good 
rubbing which he gave me, made me feel 
like a new pony. I thought of my friend. 


166 CAPTAIN JINKS 

the deer, and like her, I was happy to be 
free again, and able to use my legs. 

Just as Buntie’s father left the stable, 
I heard him tell one of the men that I had 
been sent to Betty way from Wisconsin, 
and that I would surprise her, because she 
did not know that I was coming. 


CHAPTER XV 


After this he went away leaving me to 
rest, and I fell asleep. But I was too much 
excited with the strange things around me, 
to sleep long, and when I awoke I foimd 
my old friend had come back to me. He 
brought a new brush with him, and after 
using it on my coat till I was soft and silky 
all over, he tied some blue ribbons in my 
mane and forelock, and then he led me 
from the stable, telling me all the while 
how beautiful I looked. 

The stable men came to the door and 
watched us out of sight. I felt very happy 
as I pranced along with my head held high, 
for something told me that at last I was 
going to see Betty and Billy. 

All Razzle’s good teaching and advice 
came back to me now, and I resolved to 
do my best, in spite of the strange sounds 
and objects which began to surround me. 

167 


168 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


Almost beneath my feet, there lay some 
steel rails in the road, that looked exactly 
like those over which the wheels of our 
train had rushed along. What if an engine 
should come now? Then my instinct be- 
gan to play its old game of warning, and 
I felt sure that danger was near. I tossed 
my head and looked around on both sides 
of the road, trying to find something to 
frighten me, but there was nothing in 
sight; though just at that minute I heard 
a strange sound like a buzzing and hum- 
ming over my head, and then there came 
rushing towards me a huge yellow thing 
that seemed to be alive, for it ran along 
without either engine or horses to pull 
it. 

In aU my experience, nothing had ever 
come to me like this, and I was frightened 
out of my senses. I pulled at the bridle 
and tried to run, but my young master’s 
arms were strong, and they held me firmly, 
while he patted and soothed me as best he 
could, saying: 

“ Why, Cap, it’s foolish to be afraid of 



THERE CAME RUSHING TOWARDS ME A HUGE YELLOW 
THING THAT SEEMED TO BE ALIVe/^ 





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CAPTAIN JINKS 


169 


an electric car. I have a mind to put you 
in it, and give you a ride.^’ 

The tone of his voice, like Buntie’s, 
made me lose my fear, though my heart 
was beating rapidly when we turned off 
from the main road, into a narrow street, 
shaded by beautiful trees. Through the 
overhanging branches and green leaves, I 
caught a glimpse of something blue spark- 
ling and quivering in the sun, like the 
waters of my own dear river. But this 
was so long and so wide, that it seemed to 
run into the sky when I tried to look across 
it. And the air— it was simply frisky! I 
shall never forget how it blew through 
every hair of my coat, scattering my mane 
and tail wherever it wanted to, without 
even so much as asking my permission. 
Yet it was not cold, and when its breath 
gave me new life, and set me to prancing, 
something told me that this was Betty’s 
beloved ocean, she used to tell us so much 
about. 

At length we entered a winding drive- 
way, sheltered by great trees such as I 


170 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


had never seen before, and walked up to 
a dark house covered with vines. I was so 
excited that I kept on prancing, till sud- 
denly just in front of me a black nose was 
thrust through a hole in the piazza rail, 
and I foimd myself looking into Billy’s 
eyes. For one minute we both stopped and 
looked, and then we spoke to each other 
in the old familiar way; only a little louder 
and a little quicker too, I guess. But our 
greetings were interrupted by a banging 
door, and such a scampering as one seldom 
hears; for it became a race then between 
Betty and BUly to see who should reach 
me first. 

There was no doubt of my welcome here, 
for BiUy was jmnping all over me, barking 
and lapping my face with his tongue; while 
Betty’s arms were around my neck, and a 
mate to the dew-drop which she left on my 
nose so long ago, when she bade me good- 
bye, glistened there just as it had done on 
that day. 

After this Betty’s family gathered 
around me, and I found myself looked at 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


171 


and admired so much, that it became wise 
for me to remember what Razzle had told 
me, namely— that I did not make myself. 

When we left the stable, Buntie’s father 
had tied a card, with some writing on it, 
into my mane, and one by one the family 
read these words from it: 

I am Captain Jinks, and Uncle Toby 
has sent me all the way from Wisconsin, 
with his love, to live with Betty, and to be 
her little pony.” 

I could see that in some way this touched 
them all, and made them very happy. 
There was Betty, when she could stop hug- 
ging me long enough, standing off to look 
at me, with the sun shining on her bright 
hair, while the breeze tossed it about. And 
she looked so contented that for a minute, 
Eazzle and Buntie and Boo, Uncle Toby 
and Helendale, faded from my memory, 
till I became happy with her. Then there 
were her father and mother, and brother, 
all crowding around to pet me,— and how 
could I help forgetting? 

But that night when I was wandering 


172 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


about my stall, the pleasures of the day 
went away, leaving me quite alone. There 
were perhaps more than twenty horses in 
the stable, but what of that? There was 
no Eazzle, and no Colonel, to cheer a home- 
sick little pony, whose friends were further 
away than even his loneliness could help 
him to realize. 

I had noticed in the morning that the 
corner stall at my right, was occupied by 
an old black horse who was fast turning 
grey, and was blind in one eye. And now 
when respectable animals would like to 
sleep, he was stamping and whimpering in 
a most discontented way. I thought he 
was a stranger too, like me, and wanted 
company, so I stuck my nose out of the 
opening over my manger, and called softly 
to him. 

He did not answer me at first, so I spoke 
again, reaching my head over as far as 
possible, to see if I could not look into his 
stall. At this he came forward, and turn- 
ing his head till he could see me with his 
good eye, and stretching out his long neck, 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


173 


he made a grab at me so quickly that I 
could not escape him. I cried out with the 
pain of his cruel teeth in my lip, and I felt 
much sadder than before. Sadder and 
wiser too, for I made up my mind that 
in the future, I would let older horses seek 
me, if they wanted to know me. 

After this I went to the farthest corner 
of my stall, and laid down on the clean 
soft straw, which had been placed there 
for me. I tried to go to sleep, but the 
roaring of a distant engine, and the rush 
of electric cars, only served to make my 
loneliness greater. I shut my eyes, wish- 
ing aU the while that I could shut my ears 
too, and then I began to dream of Helen- 
dale. 

I could hear the summer waters rippling 
under the bridge of the creek, and smell 
the clover blossoms nodding in front of 
our little cabin door. And then I heard a 
sound that seemed to make my dreams 
come true: a quick bark, followed by a 
whine, and a scratching of claws, and look- 
ing up, I saw Billy, struggling to push him- 


174 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


self tkrougli the small, open window, at 
the end of my stall. 

He knew I would be lonely, and so he 
had come to comfort me. Can you imagine 
what it meant to a home-sick pony like me, 
when, snuggling down beside me in the 
straw, Billy laid his head on my neck and 
went fast asleep? 

I am sure you can, and that you will 
believe me, when I tell you that I forgot 
to be lonely any more that night. Why, 
the first thing I knew, I awoke, and the 
daylight was peeping in at my window! 


CHAPTER XVI 


It is strange how differently things ap- 
pear when the sun is shining. I remember 
on that next morning, when I found Billy 
by my side, there seemed to be so little 
cause for unhappiness in the world, that 
I felt as if I had been visited with a bad 
dream in the night. To be sure Helendale 
was far away, but here was Billy and in 
all probability I would soon see Betty. 

I was not mistaken in this, for I had 
scarcely finished my breakfast, when I 
saw her hop-skipping across the stable 
floor. She carried a heavy rope in her lit- 
tle hands, and as fast as she swung it over 
her head and laid it on the floor in front 
of her, she stepped over it, and did the 
same thing again. It was a funny trick, 
but I suppose she enjoyed it much as I 
did my tricks, and I was quite willing that 

175 


176 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


she should, if she would keep it a proper 
distance from me. But when she came 
into my stall, still swinging her rope so 
near me that it cut the air with a whis- 
tling sound close to my ear, I thought it 
time to object. And I did this by sending 
both of my hind heels into the air with all 
my might. But they only hit Billy, who 
stood his ground and growled at me, till 
I felt so siUy I wanted to ask Betty to tie 
my legs together, so that I might never 
be tempted to kick again. 

As for Betty she just laughed, and 
jumping on my back, hugged and patted 
me till I was happy again. Somehow it 
was easier to swallow breakfast that morn- 
ing, than it had been since I left home. 
And now that I could eat, and was happy, 
it was easy to remember Razzle’s teach- 
ing, and try to be good once more. But 
alas! before the day was done, I had 
learned that I needed her with me always, 
if I would succeed. 

After Billy and Betty went away, I was 
turned into the stable yard where several 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


177 


old horses, lopping on their hind legs, 
stood looking at me out of half closed 
eyes. I walked to a corner of the yard 
which nobody seemed to want, and waited 
for my new neighbours to show their po- 
liteness to a lonely little pony, who was 
in a strange land. 

For some time it seemed as though east- 
ern horses had no politeness to show. But 
after a while when I had closed my eyes, 
just to appear as though I did not care, 
a warm breath touched my face, and 
glancing up, I saw the old black horse 
with his head twisted, so that his one good 
eye was looking straight at me. 

I was surprised at any attention from 
him, but I decided to be friendly, so I 
said Good morning,’’ to which he re- 
plied: 

‘‘Yes, it is a good morning if you feel 
that way. But after having the tooth-ache 
all night as I did, it doesn’t matter much 
what kind of a day follows. I’m afraid I 
was a little cross to you in the night, but 
you must forget it, because it is only one 


178 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


of my ways that has turned bad. I believe 
my ways were all good once, before I had 
been over-loaded on the outside, and so 
under-loaded on the inside, that I have 
learned through suffering to distrust every- 
body,— even new little ponies. 

I have not lived long in this place, 
but at my last home, if they fed me at all, 
it was on such coarse meadow hay, that it 
wore my teeth all out; and now I must 
choose between the pain of eating or going 
hungry. I am sure you will imderstand 
that either is hard enough, though the lat- 
ter would be least likely to pay in the end. 
I wonder what your name is, for you are 
such a handsome little beast that your 
name ought to be handsome too. What 
there is left of me is called Pete, and I 
guess that is good enough for a poor work 
horse, who has been knocked around the 
world and abused for ten years. 

Patsy, the droopy red-roan in the cor- 
ner there, who has those big bunches on 
his knees, is twenty, and he says I ought 
to be ashamed to look so old at ten. You 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


179 


see it is not time, but trouble, that has 
turned my hair grey. And the hardest of 
all to bear, is that aU the suffering I have 
known, has been needlessly brought to me, 
either by the selfishness, thoughtlessness, 
or cruelty of my masters. 

‘‘We are a sad lot of old auction horses 
here in this stable, just waiting for some 
poor teamster, or farmer, to come and bid 
on us. And I dare say we have all had so 
many masters, that it makes little differ- 
ence to any of us who the next may be. 
This is why I was so surprised when you 
came here yesterday. But I suppose it is 
a matter of convenience to your young 
mistress to keep you here. Though if I 
could, I would tell her to look out for the 
stable boys, for I believe they would turn 
the sweetest tempered horse in the world, 
sour in one week.” 

After this I had a great deal of food for 
reflection. As I looked back over my life, 
I felt that I had much to be thankful for. 
The only unhappiness I had ever known, 
had come to me from Dick. To be sure 


180 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


I had grieved at leaving Razzle and Helen- 
dale, but now with a loving little mistress, 
and Billy for my friend, surely if I could 
only remember to be good, I ought to be 
happy. 

Then I made a resolve that no stable 
boy should ever turn my temper sour, no 
matter how much he might tease or neg- 
lect me. How I kept that promise you 
shall see. 


CHAPTER XYII 


After I had eaten a good dinner, Betty 
and Buntie’s papa came into my stall. 
They petted me, and fed me with some 
sweet, square things, that tasted like Hel- 
endale sugar, and then they made a stable 
boy brush me till I shone. After this, to 
my surprise, I was dressed in my own har- 
ness, and hitched into my own little cart. 
These must have been on the train with 
me, though where they were all the while 
I do not know. But I do know that I 
should have felt less lonely, if I could have 
seen them near me during that long jour- 
ney. 

But now with my shining coat, and so 
many old friends near, I pranced out of 
the stable door quite proudly, and made 
a dash for the street. Buntie’s father was 
driving, while both Betty and Billy were 

beside him in the cart. 

181 


182 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


The men in the stable had come to the 
door to see us start, and they clapped their 
hands, cheering loudly, as I turned into the 
road. I could not help feeling glad, and I 
pattered down the street as fast as my feet 
could carry me. I cannot deny that I was 
excited, so perhaps there is some excuse 
for what followed. 

The road was very hard and it hurt my 
feet so, that I soon slackened my pace and 
began to limp. I had never felt anything 
like this, for at home the ground was soft 
and warm, and here it was as hard and 
cold as stone. 

After a little my new master understood 
that my feet were sore, and then I heard 
him say: 

Why, Betty, Cap has never been shod! 
I think we must stop at the first black- 
smith’s, and have some shoes put on him.” 

It was with a heavy heart that I listened 
to his words, for Dazzle had often told me 
the horrors of being shod, and I remem- 
bered that he said to me: 

Well, Cap, if ever I am tempted to 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


183 


kick, it is when they lift my foot to nail 
on a shoe.” 

You will see that I was prepared then, 
for what was coming. And yet when I 
entered the blacksmith’s shop, and saw in 
the darkness, that flaming forge of Are, 
my eyes seemed to start out of my head. 
The sound of the Are, and a smell like 
burning flesh, frightened all reason out of 
me. It was in vain that the new master 
tried to soothe me into obedience, for I had 
lost all control of myself. I reared and 
plunged forward, snorted and kicked, and 
nothing could ever have induced me to lift 
my foot to the blacksmith’s knee, had it 
not been for an unusual thing which hap- 
pened. 

When I had spent nearly all my 
strength, and the blacksmith’s patience 
too, I heard a horse behind me calling my 
name. This was so unexpected that it 
brought back a little of my sense, and I 
stopped to listen. 

Imagine my surprise then, when old 
Black Pete walked up beside me, and cock- 


184 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


ing his head at a convenient angle, looked 
at me with his one eye, before he spoke 
again. 

Somehow that unmated eye of his, could 
always say more than any two eyes I had 
ever seen. And now I found myself be- 
ginning to be thoroughly ashamed of my 
conduct; and I felt more so when he 
said: 

I took you to be a sensible pony. Cap, 
but I see I was mistaken. I hope you may 
never have anything worse to trouble you 
than being shod. What are you afraid of? 
Give him your foot quickly, you foolish 
beast. Why I have stood on three legs a 
hundred times, and I still have four to 
walk on! Some folks who never know 
when they are well off, are always borrow- 
ing trouble.” 

It is needless to say that I obeyed Pete, 
and lifted my feet one after the other, to 
the blacksmith’s knee, till four little iron 
shoes had been fastened securely to my 
hoofs. I cannot say that I liked them, but 
I resolved to do my best. 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


185 


Wlien I was driven from the shop, we 
presently turned into a wide, busy street, 
where my new shoes slipped on the pave- 
ment, ringing out with such a loud noise, 
that they frightened me, and made me 
very nervous. 

I think I could have managed to forget 
the shoes, though they made my feet 
heavy, and hard to lift. But before long, 
we reached a narrow road crossing a river, 
over which a bridge seemed to be float- 
ing, with no evident fastening on either 
side. It looked frightful, and when my 
master reined me straight towards it, I 
stopped and tried to run back. A car 
track ran across the water, close to the 
bridge, and when I felt the cut of the whip 
on my legs, I forgot everything saving the 
one thought that I wanted to get away 
from danger. Por I was sure that Betty 
and Billy would both be drowned, if I 
took them on that floating bridge. 

Thus far I had seen only one electric car, 
but while I was smarting from the sting 
of the whip, I heard the same swishing 


186 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


sound over my head, that had startled me 
yesterday, and then I knew no more, till 
I found myself at a standstill across the 
track, very close to a car that had sud- 
denly stopped, like some live thing, when 
it seemed to be crashing full upon me. I 
heard frantic cries from the passengers, 
and then my new master and Betty were 
standing at my head. Their faces were 
white, and I heard him say: 

I wouldn’t give a dime for a pony who 
did not heed the rein! I pulled with all 
my might, but he went in the opposite 
direction. Why, Betty, my dear, he might 
have killed you.” 

Then down came a whip, swish! swish! 
across my back and legs, with such vio- 
lence that I thought it would cut open my 
flesh. 

I suppose I should have stood still and 
taken that whipping, for I deserved it, — 
but I could not. Heaven knows I tried, 
but Uncle Toby had never whipped me 
like this; and after the lash fell heavily 
several times, I forgot all my good re- 



DOWN CAME A WHIP, SWISH ! SWISH ! ACROSS MY BACK.'' 







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CAPTAIN JINKS 


187 


solves, and bolted. When I jumped, Billy 
landed on the ground beside me, and the 
cushion from the seat of the cart flew over 
my head. This was all I knew, till I 
reached a fleld beyond the bridge, where 
there was some clover growing, that filled 
the air with a perfume like home. 

When they found me, I was feeding 
quietly, unmindful of the broken cart, or 
anything else, saving the clover heads, 
that were nodding and calling to me from 
every comer of that fleld. 

But I had made a name for myself in 
the new home, where henceforth I must 
live under the ban of disgrace. The pas- 
sengers on that car remembered me, call- 
ing me the wild little horse, and Betty 
was forbidden to drive me alone. Some- 
times the stable boys took me out, trying 
to accustom me to the cars and other 
strange sights. But they were so impa- 
tient with me, while they teased me so in 
the stall, that I soon forgot to try to mind 
them, and I became as sour and contrary 
as ever Dazzle had been. 


188 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


If at that time, one kind person who 
imderstood me could have come into my 
life, the story I am telling you would have 
been quite different. But the truth must 
be told. 


CHAPTER XVm 


I was glad when it grew cold, and the 
first soft white mantle came down to 
cover the hard blackness of our city 
streets. How I longed for my little shed 
and Razzle, and the freedom of the pas- 
ture, I can never tell you. But here I was, 
shut into a stall with nothing to do but to 
eat and think. 

Perhaps you question that a pony could 
do much thinking, but I assure you that 
I did a great deal of it, during those long 
winter days. 

Betty seldom came to see me now, for 
they were trying to teach her to be afraid 
of me. And as for driving me, I had 
gained such a reputation that her mother 
no longer allowed me to be harnessed. 

Now what a position this was for a pony 
to be placed in. Do you wonder that I 

189 


190 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


lost my temper, and grew gradually more 
wicked day by day? 

There was only one left, who seemed to 
have no fear of me, and who imderstood 
me thoroughly, and this was Billy. Every 
afternoon foimd him cuddled down in the 
straw beside me for a nap, while I stood 
like an old horse, half asleep, wishing we 
both were back at Helendale. Yet his 
coming cheered the long winter hours, and 
made life bearable for me; though my 
knees were growing stiff, and I was long- 
ing for a run in the open air. 

I made few acquaintances among the 
other horses, for none of them staid with 
us but a day or two, — none indeed, saving 
black Pete. And I suppose no one eared 
to buy him, because there was no mate 
to his eye, and his front knees bulged out 
so in the joints, that they were always 
getting in each other’s way when he tried 
to walk. I don’t think he had the tooth- 
ache after that first night, for he never 
spoke cross to me again, and I had grown 
to like him. 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


191 


But it seemed to me in those days that 
everything I loved was to be torn from 
me, and everybody was conspiring to 
make my life miserable, and my temper 
more vicious. I shall never forget the 
morning which brought to me, what seemed 
the last straw that could be loaded on to 
my already breaking little back. The day 
was so dark that lanterns were hung up to 
light the stable, and in front of the doors 
a red flag was swaying in the wind. The 
stable boys went round from stall to stall 
brushing up each old nag, till his coat 
fairly shone. 

There were a lot of horses in, that day, 
and they were a better class than our 
proprietor usually had to offer. But just 
at sale time, when he was looking as 
though he expected an extra dish of oats, 
something in the sky tipped over, and let 
down such a flood of water, that there was 
only one buyer who was not afraid of be- 
ing drowned. My stall was near the door, 
and I saw him when he came in. I had 
never seen any one who looked like him, 


192 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


nor heard any one speak in such a sharp, 
loud drawl, as he did. One of the boys 
who was standing near me when the old 
man passed, put his hand to his chin, and 
I heard him say ‘‘ spinach under his 
breath. 

Well, to make a long story short, there 
was no auction sale that day, and our 
yisitor went from stall to stall, playing 
with the horses, and talking to them. He 
wanted a horse, and he had just twenty- 
five dollars with which to buy one. But 
at length, to my dismay, the bargain was 
made in black Pete’s stall, and then I 
saw my only friend being led from the 
barn. 

Not even Billy was there to cheer me, 
and when the boy who had said ‘‘ spin- 
ach,” walked up to me, and offering me 
an apple, immediately put it all into his 
own mouth, as I reached for it, my heart 
was sadder, I think, than it had ever been 
in my life. Yet even here there was one 
comfort, for I heard the stable keeper say- 
ing: 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


193 


Well, old Pete will have a soft job 
on his hands now. Whiskers will feed 
him, and rub him, till he can go without 
falling over himself! ” How true his words 
were you shall see. 

As the holidays drew near, fewer horses 
came to the stable. Sometimes I was quite 
alone there, and then Billy was my one 
comfort, for he seemed to know that he 
must stay with me. 

I heard a great deal of talk about Christ- 
mas, but it meant little to me, for I had 
usually been at the farm during this sea- 
son, and knew nothing about the doings 
of the family. But now I think it was 
a week before Christmas day, one morning 
when I was blinking in my stall, some- 
body ran up behind me, and I felt a face 
laid against mine, and a pair of arms 
thrown around my neck. It was so long 
since I had been petted that it was a wel- 
come surprise, I assure you. And of 
course I knew it was Betty, before I had 
time to look at her. She had stolen away 
from her mother, and when she reached 


194 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


the stable, there was no one there but 
me, so she had greeted me in the olden 
way, forgetting all fear, and remembering 
only that I was her own little pony. She 
played with me for some time, and she told 
me all about the things she was buying 
for Christmas, and then she promised to 
come again when nobody was looking. 

I cannot tell you how her visit cheered 
me. Why! aU the world seemed bright 
again, and Betty was the brightest and 
most beautiful thing in it. But she had 
to leave me, and just as she went out of 
the stall, 1 saw her stop and pick up one 
of my shoes, which had loosened and 
dropped from my foot. She held it high 
in the air, then turning to me, laughing 
all the while, she said: 

“ 0 you dear precious thing! I know 
what I will do with this. I’ll just send 
it to Uncle Toby for Christmas.” 

The next day, much to my surprise, 
she came back again, and holding some- 
thing up before me, she danced all over 
the stall, saying as she did so: 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


195 


Don’t you see, Cappie, — can’t you tell 
what this pretty golden thing is? Why, 
it is just your own Little shoe, gilded and 
tied with a blue ribbon, on to that pretty 
white card. Mother has written a rhyme, 
and we are going to send them all to Uncle 
Toby. Listen and let me read what you 
are supposed to say on this card. And 
then she read: 

In the busy march of life 
I lately lost a shoe; 

And Santa Claus who found it 
Now forwards it to you. 

And I am sure you^ll laugh, Sir, 

For while western ground I trod 
I cannot now remember 
That ever I was shod. 

With this I do impart to you 
And to the friends so dear. 

My Christmas greetings fond and true, 
Good luck, I’m happy here! ” 

She gave me a quick hug, rumpled my 
forelock all over my eyes, and then say- 
ing it was most school time, she ran away. 


196 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


The men were out of sight, and I feU to 
thinking. Now what was that she had 
made me say to Uncle Toby? “ Good 
luck, I’m happy here! ” Yes, that was it, 
but what a terrible lie it was, though per- 
haps Betty did not know it. And perhaps, 
too, it was well that Uncle Toby should 
never know how really miserable I was. 
Then if only that card would make him 
happy, I ought to be content. 


CHAPTER XIX 

When Christmas day came, the ground 
was bare again, and frozen into hard ruts 
that made the carts rumble by with a 
cold disagreeable sound. I knew it was 
Christmas, because I heard the men wish- 
ing a merry Christmas to each other. 
Everybody seemed to be happy, and the 
bells were ringing around us, but all this 
meant nothing to a homesick pony. In 
the middle of the forenoon one of the 
boys came into my stall, bringing a meas- 
ure of delicious looking yellow corn. He 
held it out for me to eat, and as he did 
so he said: 

I think you ought to have a little 
extra feed on Christmas day, like the rest 
of us. Cap.’’ But when I put my nose 
into the measure, and was just ready to 

197 


198 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


grab a mouthful, he pulled it away, and 
began running around the stall still hold- 
ing the corn out to me. 

Now could anything be more trying 
than this? And do you blame me for 
nipping his coat sleeve, and kicking up 
whenever I could get near enough to him? 
He kept on teasing me for some time, 
but he didn’t give me the com, and finally 
he said to me: 

You’re an ugly thing, and I’ll tell you 
what you’ve got to do, before you can 
have that corn. You’ve got to give me 
a ride.” Then he led me out into the 
fioor, and putting a bridle upon me, he 
jumped on my back without any saddle. 
It was a long while since I had been out, 
and I was only too glad to go. So I 
started into a gallop that any rider might 
have enjoyed. But one of my feet was 
bare, and the frozen ground cut it so that 
I was soon glad to walk. This did not 
seem to please him and he kicked and 
pinched me, till I believe I was not re- 
sponsible for anything that followed. And 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


199 


all tMs time I fancied I could smell that 
yellow com! 

After a while when he saw that I jper- 
sisted in walking, he stuck a pin or some- 
thing sharp, into my neck, and it hurt me 
so that I kicked out behind and began to 
run. I guess this was what he wanted, 
for he laughed; and so, deciding to give 
him all he wanted, if it pleased him — I 
bolted! Up one street and down another, 
cutting short comers, into the ditches and 
out again, up on the sidewalks and down 
again, knowing nothing, seeing nothing, — 
I went. 

The boy had stopped bradding and kick- 
ing me, and was hanging on to my neck 
breathless and still. I hated the feeling of 
his arms, and my only thought was to 
tear them away. When I had run the 
length of a long broad street, and tore 
into a narrow one at the end of it, I saw 
the sunlight galloping in on the waves, 
and the next I knew, I had turned into 
Betty’s yard, and was ranning round and 
round the driveway, with the boy still 


200 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


clinging to my back. Of course the family 
heard me and doors began to bang, and 
they all came out on the porch, while 
Billy, thinking an old time romp was in 
the air, barked and ran at my heels. All 
this time I had been too wild to thmk, 
but now when my instinct began to tell 
me what to do, I obeyed it by stopping 
so short that the boy flew over my head, 
and landing head-flrst on the steps, rolled 
to the ground. He did not move, but lay 
so still we all thought he was dead, as 
Betty’s mother stooped to lift him up. 

They stretched him on the ground with 
his white face fumed towards me, and I 
heard them say in a whisper, that he had 
a crael woimd on his forehead. But pretty 
soon he opened his eyes, and I was sur- 
prised to hear gentle, little Betty, say to 
him in an angry voice: 

“ Well, who gave you permission to ride 
my pony? You’re a mean boy, and Cap 
woifld never have rtm with you if you 
had not abused him. Will you get up 
now and have another ride? ” 



HE DID NOT MOVE, 


BUT LAY SO STILL 
HE WAS dead/' 


WE ALL THOUGHT 



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0 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


201 


He had risen to his feet, and was look- 
ing woefully down over his best Christmas 
clothes, and at the dust on his coat and 
stockings. Then he said to Betty: 

“ No, I thank you, I — I’ve had 
enough I ” 

He had not even the courage left to cry, 
and I shall always believe that Betty un- 
derstood, and knew I would never have 
treated him so cruelly, if he had not de- 
served it. 

You may imagine that after this, Betty’s 
mother was more afraid of me than ever. 
For weeks together, the child was kept 
away from me, and I was never harnessed 
now. My legs were stiff and my temper 
ruined, and if Uncle Toby could have seen 
me then, I believe his heart would have 
broken. Yet coidd he have come to me, 
he would have understood that I was not 
aU to blame, and he would have found 
some way to make me happy and good 
again. 

It is only too true that a horse cannot 
be judged by what he is, but rather by 


202 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


what his surroundings have been. I be- 
lieve Dazzle would have shown a cross 
temper under any conditions, for surely 
his lot was a happy one; and perhaps 
Razzle would have been good under any 
trial— but I doubt it very much! At all 
events I ceased trying to be anything but 
a crabbed, vicious little beast. 

The boy who had taken the Christmas 
ride had forgotten to boast of his horse- 
manship since that day, and he now kept 
a safe piece of stall between himself and 
my heels. But if he was left in charge 
of me for a day, he also forgot to feed me 
or give me a drink, though he remembered 
to make my life as miserable as possible 
in every way. 

Do you wonder the days dragged, and 
that I thought relief would never come? 
Yet as I told you once before, there al- 
ways seems to be an end to everything, 
and so there was at last to my life in the 
auction stable. 

The beginning to the end came in this 
way:— it came with Betty and a queer 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


203 


looking, dapple-faced Httle boy, who 
jumped into my stall . and on my back, 
before he even had the politeness to say 
how do you do to me! I believe he was 
Betty’s cousin, and she called him Kim.” 
I remember I thought on that first day, 
that his name was just as easy to get ac- 
quainted with, and just as crisp and saucy, 
as he was. And I never changed my mind, 
only to think later on, that Kim was far 
too good for him. In fact, that boy never 
deserved a name! 

Well, it seemed that he had come to 
visit Betty, and had teased her to steal 
away from her mother, and bring him to 
see me. Of course he loved a pony, boys 
always do!— even though they tease us so. 
And soon his stolen visit to me became an 
everyday event, and one which I dreaded 
more and more. 

I could see that he was aching to get 
me out of doors, but the stable-man stead- 
ily refused to let him harness me. And 
so, after what seemed a long time to me, 
his visits ceased and I saw him no more, 


204 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


till tlie grass growing outside smelled 
green and juicy, and I knew by the air, 
that the clover and alfalfa were budding 
at Helendale. 

Billy came to see me every day, but I 
bad not seen Betty since Kim went away. 

One morning, much to my surprise, the 
stable-keeper came up to me, and taking 
me by tbe fore-lock, led me out into a yard 
where several old horses were sunning 
themselves. I had often wanted to get 
out here in the air, and wondered why I 
could not do so. And now as I look back, 
I thiTik there was nothing prevented my 
living out of doors, excepting the thought- 
lessness of my attendants. Be this as it 
may, I was glad enough to get out now, 
and I began to run and whinny, to show 
the happiness that would not stay hidden 
away inside of me. The boys were work- 
ing in the yard, and I almost ran one of 
them down in my joy at being free to use 
my legs once more. He just dodged me 
in time, and then he threw a shovelful of 
dirt after me, that struck my head and 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


205 


sifted down into my eyes. Of course it 
hurt them, and my fim was stopped for 
a while, so I stopped too, and began sun- 
ning myself like the other old nags. I 
was obliged to wink hard and close my 
eyes, to get the dirt out of them, and I 
was just starting in for another frolic 
when I heard one boy say to another: 

I guess he wouldn’t feel so frisky if 
he knew his little mistress was most dead. 
I heard her mother telling the boss yester- 
day, that the Doctor called it scarlet fever, 
and they couldn’t tell how it might end. 
I’m mighty sorry, for Betty is a nice girl, 
and she’s the only one Cap was ever good 
to. Guess he couldn’t help liking her if 
he tried.” 

Neither one of them spoke again, and 
I did not play any more that morning. 
Was it always to be the same I wondered, 
and was little Betty to be taken away from 
me just because I loved her? Alas! what 
a wretched pony I was, and what would 
become of me now? 

The days dragged slowly into weeks. 


206 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


and I had not seen or heard from Betty. 
Even Billy had forsaken me, for they kept 
him chained while his little mistress was 
so sick. It must have been mid-summer 
before I heard their names mentioned 
again, and then I heard the men saying 
that Betty was out, but was looking very 
badly, and that the Doctor told some one 
he was afraid her mind was affected, for 
she had forgotten almost everything. 

I remember that morning as though it 
were yesterday. It was a grey summer 
day, and for some reason the men were 
hurrying to finish their work. They were 
in rare good humour, too, and one of them 
let me into a front yard where I had never 
been allowed to run before. It was strange 
that he should have done this, and in view 
of what happened, I believe you will agree 
with me. 


CHAPTER XX 


You will remember that I spoke of our 
stable being near the station. Well, on 
the morning of which I am telling you, 
I had noticed an unusual stir in the 
streets. Trains were puffing, and people 
moving about before daylight; and just 
when a man could have begun to see 
across our barn floor, I heard the boy who 
slept there over night, creep out and leave 
the door open behind him. He was gone 
till the old horses began to paw for their 
breakfasts, and I began to realize that the 
only thing in my manger, was a little red 
patch of sunlight. When Anally he did 
come back, I was very grateful for the 
oats which he scattered all over my crib. 
Somehow they did not cover the sunlight 
at all, and when I had carefully lapped up 
every one, the bright patch still remained. 

207 


208 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


I could hear the boy hurrying around to 
get the other horses fed before the master 
came iu, and I also heard him tell his 
chum, who happened along, that it was a 
big show to see them unload, and he 
wouldn^t have missed it for anything. 

,What that show was, I had learned to 
my sorrow, before the day was done. 

In the middle of the forenoon, all the 
men left the stable, and only the master 
remained to look after us. I thought he 
seemed nervous, and I noticed that none 
of the horses, but me, were turned out. 

At length, when I had feasted on some 
patches of real, green grass, which were 
growing in the yard, my attention was 
attracted by the sound of drums beating 
far away. They didn’t stay away, though, 
for they sounded nearer every minute, 
and presently I could hear the tramping 
of feet, as if a great crowd was coming. 
Then there was loud cheering and laugh- 
ter, and last though not least, there burst 
upon my ears the sound of a steam-piano! 

Have you forgotten that other piano. 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


209 


and what happened when I heard it? Be- 
cause if you have, I have not, and never 
shall. A steam-piano meant but one thing 
to me, and that was a circus parade, which 
might bring Dick with it. Oh! why had 
they turned me loose in the front yard, 
to-day of all days? 

The noise was coming nearer, and the 
voice of that horrible steam-piano drove 
out the sound of bands and drums, root- 
ing me to the ground while it passed, and 
sending me, after it had gone, plunging 
wildly around the yard with my head and 
tail in the air. If I could have jumped the 
fence I would have been out of hearing 
in no time, but I couldn’t, and so,— well— 
the steam-piano was taking itself away, 
and that was one blessing! Why, I had 
been so afraid of it, that I had forgotten 
to dread Dick, but now, just as I began to 
quiet down a little, I heard a whip fall 
heavily upon a horse’s back, and a voice 
say: 

Gto long, you brute! can’t you see we 
are falling behind the parade? ” There 


210 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


was no need to look up— I knew that voice 
belonged to Dick. But I did peep through 
the slats of the fence, and saw him riding 
a sorry-looking little pony, that would 
have been a good mate for me. Yes, there 
was no mistake, Dick was here, and so 
near that had I whinnied ever so faintly, 
he would have heard, and come to find 
me. 

Can you imagine my state of mind when 
I saw him? If you cannot, the only way 
I can describe it to you, is to say that I 
felt just as our old mother-hen used to 
look, when she saw a hawk fiy over. But 
Dick^s eyes were straight ahead, and be- 
fore I could realize my good fortune he 
had turned the comer and was out of 
sight— he was gone, and gone without see- 
ing me! 

My life was hard enough at best, in 
those days, but on this particular day, I 
felt as though I were dragging a heavy 
load of sorrow down hill, with both tugs 
and the whiffie-tree broken; and I was 
sure that I must run fast to keep out of 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


211 


the way, or the whole weight would be on 
my heels. I couldn’t tell what kind of 
trouble was rolling after me— I only knew 
I was afraid. 

Toward evening when the men came 
back to the stable, there was a great deal 
of loud laughter and singing, and I heard 
them talking about riding and shooting, 
and pretty girls walking on ropes in the 
air. I thought the master seemed angry 
at their noise and neglect, for the old 
horses were saying they were hungry, 
and not one of the men offered to feed 
us. 

In the midst of this confusion, two little 
boys ran into the stable, and stopping 
short in the floor, looked all around them 
with scared eyes. Their faces were cov- 
ered with black spots, they wore no caps, 
and they both carried lanterns. Neither 
of them spoke, till the men began to tease 
and ask them questions, then one of them, 
who happened to look up and see me, 
found his tongue enough to say: 

“ Is she here? ” 


212 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


This made them all laugh, but the mas- 
ter, who came forward and said: Is who 
here, my little man? ’’ 

Betty— Betty, I tell you! Don’t you 
know she’s lost, and they’ve been himting 
for her all day? She went away with 
Billy this morning, about the time of the 
circus parade, and nobody’s seen her since. 
We are going out with our lanterns now 
to hunt for her, and we’U never come back 
till we find her! ” 

The poor little boy was one of Betty’s 
playmates, and he was trying hard to be 
a man, but when he forgot and burst into 
tears, they both ran away looking very 
much ashamed. 

Perhaps you will doubt that I under- 
stood every word the boys had said, but 
I did, nevertheless. And not only did I 
realize that Betty was lost, but my old 
friend, instinct, presented itself to me, 
whispering things into my ears that made 
me tremble with fear. Every time I tried 
to fall asleep, or forget about my troubles, 
a cruel voice would call out to me, saying: 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


213 


Betty is gone— Betty is lost! And it 
was always Dick’s voice that spoke the 
words. 

The master sent his men home early 
that evening, and slept in the stable him- 
self. He was related to Betty in some 
way, and I know he was fond of her, for 
I heard him walking the floor half the 
night. Sometimes he would stop at a 
little box by the door, just outside my 
stall, and talking into a hole in the side 
of it, would ask if there were any news 
from Betty. I don’t know how he could 
get an answer out of that queer, brown 
box, that hung on the wall. It was cer- 
tainly too small for any one to get inside 
of it, though once I was sure I heard a 
voice speaking myself; and it said dis- 
tinctly: No, they have not found her 

yet,”— and the answer seemed always to 
be the same. 

I had never learned to love the stable- 
keeper, for he seldom spoke to me; but 
I felt nearer to him that night than ever 
before. And once when I whinnied softly. 


214 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


lie laid Ids hand on my neck, and said 
very gently: 

What’s the matter, Cappie,— do you 
know, too, that your little mistress is lost? 
You seem to be very restless to-night, but 
I am glad of company, while all the others 
are sleeping.” 

I heard nothing more about Betty, after 
that night. The men had said that Billy 
went with her to the circus parade, and I 
feared they were lost together. At any 
rate he never came to see me, and I was 
left a forlorn little creature, entirely at 
the mercy of the stable hands. I was 
kicked, and scolded, and neglected, for so 
long a time that I scarcely cared whether 
I lived or died. 

But at length the end of my imprison- 
ment here was brought about, as you will 
see, by that long-ago call from Betty, and 
her dapple-faced cousin Kim. You re- 
member I told you then, it was the begin- 
ning of the end, and so it was. 

I believe Betty’s mother had found no 
clue to either her or Billy, and the poor 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


215 


woman was heart-broken. She could not 
bear to see me, because Betty had loved 
me, and the sight of me grieved her. So 
it came about, that when Kim asked her 
to give me to him, she consented at once. 
This was a good way, she thought, to dis- 
pose of me— and perhaps it was for her! 
though how it ended for me you shall see. 


CHAPTER XXI 


It must have been late in the summer, 
when the stable-keeper came into my stall 
one morning, and gave me a big measure 
of corn, and more hay than I usually had 
to eat in a whole day. There was a large 
grey horse living in the stall next to mine, 
which the master called his own, and I 
noticed he fed him too, even though it was 
hardly daylight. Then he came back into 
my stall, and began braiding up my fore- 
lock and tail, tying them tight with strings 
which he pulled out of his pocket. I never 
like to be bothered when I eat, so I 
snapped at him while he was braiding my 
forelock, but he only patted me in return, 
saying as he did so: 

“ Don’t bite me this morning, Cappie, 
for I want to be good to you to-day. It 
is the last time I shall ever feed you, and 
216 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


217 


p6rlifl.ps t}i6 IdiSt time I sli&ll 6V6r see youj 
for after to-day, you and Betty and BiUy 
will all be gone out of my life.” 

There was so much real sorrow in his 
voice, that I could not be cross any more, 
so I rubbed my head against his coat 
sleeve, to let him know that I forgave all 
his careless and cruel treatment of me. 

After this he harnessed his old grey 
horse into a long-bodied wagon, put a bri- 
dle on me, and tying me to the tail- 
board, he drove away before the sun had 
begun to shine. 

I tried to jog along as weU as I could, 
but it is hard to follow another horse’s 
pace, and I was feeling very much dis- 
couraged, when I saw, what I had not 
noticed before— my own little cart and 
harness in the wagon in front of me. 
They seemed like old friends I can tell 
you, and they assured me, too, that wher- 
ever I was going, I would probably be 
driven more, than I had been in the city 
I was gladly leaving behind me. 

We crossed a river bridge, which re- 


218 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


minded me of the creek at Helendale, and 
passed over some flat open land that 
smelled like the sea, and made new legs 
out of my stiff ones; then when we had 
crossed another huge bridge, over which 
cars were running all the time, we found 
ourselves in Boston. 

I shall never forget the din and con- 
fusion of those streets, and I hope never 
to be obliged to travel through such tor- 
tures again. I pulled at my halter, and 
ran back as far as it would let me, but 
the master had been wise enough to hitch 
me with a rope so strong, that it would 
have broken my jaw before giving way 
itself. 

Luckily for me, we did not go far in the 
city streets before reaching a station, 
where unloading my cart, and giving me 
a good-bye pat, the master turned us over 
to a railroad man, and drove away. 

Now indeed, I felt forlorn, for I had no 
idea where I was going. My only comfort 
was to keep close to my cart; but even 
this was denied me, for I saw a man take 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


219 


it by the shafts, and running with it into 
a car, he pushed it behind some other bag- 
gage, away out of my sight. He seemed 
not to notice me at all, but just to make 
light of the fact that he was parting me 
from the only thing I had left on earth. 
My cart was scarcely out of sight, though, 
when another man seized me by the bridle, 
and ran me into a rear car so quickly that 
before I knew I had started, I had arrived, 
and was hitched beside a little, grey, Shet- 
land pony, who looked every bit as sorry 
as I did. 

The train started off with the same old 
rush and roar that always frightened me 
out of my senses, and I stood there for 
more than an hour, quivering and jumping 
at every new sound, believing myself to 
be the most wretched little pony in all the 
world. 

I heard the conductor in the car adjoin- 
ing ours call New Bedford next,— end of 
the line.’^ Of course I fell to wondering 
then if I should be put off at this place, 
and what would happen to me after that. 


220 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


If this were the end of the Line, the sorry 
pony behind me must go, too. It would 
be strange if he and I were bound for the 
same destination, and I had not spoken to 
him. He looked more forlorn than I, and 
perhaps I ought to make friends with him; 
so I turned around and whinnied. 

Just at that moment, the door opened 
and a man who stepped inside, stopped, 
and looked at the sorry pony and me, with 
a half muttered oath, and a low whistle 
that I had heard once before, in the dead 
of night at Helendale. 

There is no need for me to tell you who 
had come. You remember as well as I, 
that stormy night in the hut, when Billy 
had so nobly saved me from being stolen. 
But there was no Billy here, and so far 
as I knew, I was at Dick’s mercy. He 
started to come towards me, saying as he 
did so: ‘‘Where on earth did you come 
from, Cappie? By jove, but you two would 
make a good pair! I always said that if 
once I got my eye on you again. Cap, we’d 
make our fortune together in the circus, 





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CAPTAIN JINKS 


221 


and you would not slip tlirough my fingers, 
as easy as you did before.’^ 

I do not know wbat might have followed 
these remarks, for they were checked by 
the entrance of a train man. I didn’t 
think Dick looked very happy at the in- 
terruption, but he said in his crafty voice: 

That’s a beauty of a little beast you 
have there. Where’s he boimd for? ” 

The Vineyard boat, I believe, going to 
Edgartown. Probably a summer boarder 
at the hotel. Yes, he is a pretty little 
feller, but they tell me he’s darned 
spunky! Better keep away from his heels, 
—he don’t seem to take a notion to you, 
does he? ” And the train man laughed. 

We had reached the station by this time, 
and I saw Dick imtying the sorry pony; 
then I knew it was the same I had seen 
him ride, on the day when Betty and Billy 
were lost. 

All the way down the wharf to the boat, 
Dick kept close beside me. I say close, 
but perhaps it would be truer to say,— as 
near as he dared to come,— for I was so 


222 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


anxious to give him one good-bye kick, 
that I spent aU my energy on the happy 
thought of how I would land him, if I got 
the chance; and so I had walked on to that 
quivering, shaking boat, without noticing 
what I was doing. I saw Dick talking to 
the man who was leading me, and I heard 
him say as he turned back to the wharf: 

Blast him— but 111 get him some day! 
Anywhere but the Vineyard, though, for 
when once he gets there, nothing but fair 
means will ever get him off again. No 
trains, only one boat a day, and a dozen 
officers to watch every feller that steps 
foot on the Island.’’ 

The whistle blew, the steamer creaked 
away from the wharf, and when I saw 
there was nothing but water between the 
shore and me, I was glad, for Dick was 
there— and I was here. 

During that sail, I stood huddled away 
in a dark comer close to the engine, where 
I could hear all sorts of sounds that were 
strange to me, but somehow I was not 
afraid as I had been on the train. What 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


223 


I was most anxious about now, was to 
know where I was going, and who my 
master was to be. 

Imagine my feelings then, when as the 
boat stopped at a big wharf and I was led 
out, that dapple-faced Kim ran up and 
took me by the halter. He seemed de- 
lighted to see me, and I wish I might have 
shared his pleasure,— but I could not. A 
horse remembers kicks, and pinches, and 
shoe-nails, that have been thrust into his 
sides, and he finds it hard to love the boy 
who has practised them upon him. Per- 
haps if I could have forgotten the past, 
my life on the Island would have been 
easier, and the ending quite different. 

Kim had brought his mother with him, 
and as soon as my cart was taken from the 
boat, they began to harness me into it. 
I was glad of this, for I had been shut up 
so much of late, that I thought a run in 
my little cart would be a pleasure. But 
I had already trotted ten miles behind an- 
other horse that morning, and the Edgar- 
town road was so sandy that I was obliged 


224 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


to walk nearly all the way. I think it 
must have been five or six miles from 
where we landed, to Kim’s house, and I 
was glad enough to rest when we reached 
there. We met no cars, or anything else 
that would frighten a pony, and I was so 
happy to be away from noise and strange 
sights, that I think I behaved as well as 
Razzle could have wished, had she been 
there. And I am sure that quiet drive in 
the country, brought back a little of my 
good humour, and a self respect I had not 
felt for months. 

When we turned into the drive-way of 
Kim’s house, the air blew across the Is- 
land clear and cool, while through trees, 
and over fields, I caught a glimpse of 
Betty’s own blue sea. I knew it was the 
same she had loved, because away in the 
distance, it ran into the sky just as it did 
in front of her house. 

If Kim had been good to me, I believe 
I could have been happy here in this beau- 
tiful country spot. I loved the drives in 
all directions, though the roads were soft. 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


225 


and when my cart was filled with children, 
it was very hard to trot, with the wheels 
sunken to the hubs in sand. When my 
little legs got so weary that I could 
scarcely lift them, I sometimes tried to 
walk, but Kim’s long whip would cut into 
my fianks, till, vainly hoping to get away 
from it, I would run again— and he would 
be happy. 


CHAPTER XXn 


I never saw such a boy as Kim, for try- 
ing to be somebody other than himself. 
There were days together, when he would 
be Robinson Crusoe cast away on a desert 
island. I learned to dread these days 
more than any others, for when he said in 
the morning: ‘‘ I am Robinson Crusoe to- 
day, Cappie,” I knew that I should be 
driven for hours in the heavy sands of the 
south shore, or till Kim took a notion to 
be some other man. 

I shall not soon forget that wild, dreary 
spot, which they called the south shore. 
There never seemed to be a living creature 
there, saving the great white-winged birds, 
that flew screaming over our heads, or 
dipping into the water for their break- 
fasts, sailed back to the naked hulk of a 
boat, where they sunned themselves, and 
226 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


227 


acted glad that the wreck lay rotting there 
in the sand. 

After I saw the place, I had my doubts 
about its being the same sea which Betty 
loved, for I don’t believe she ever could 
have talked so much about a thing which 
proved so cruel as this. Why, Kim told 
me once in confidence, that we were the 
only persons who ever came here, and that 
it was called the end of the world. He 
said, too, that no sailor dared get near the 
shore, for fear of the great waves, that 
rising higher than our barn, would sweep 
over his ship, until it went under, or was 
beaten to pieces on the sand. 

Just before we reached the waves at 
the south shore, a narrow river ran across 
the beach. There was no way to get over 
it, excepting to swim across, and the cur- 
rent was as swift as our own Helendale 
creek, in the spring. But it was only after 
we had forded the river, and were cast 
away on the beach close to those thunder- 
ous waves, that Kim really became Robin- 
son Crusoe! 


228 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


Sometimes wlieii I was wet and cold 
from tlie river, he would hitch me to a 
hare timber of the wreck, leaving me there 
to shiver in the wind, while he went out 
to look for game, or build a house for him- 
self in the sands. Now and then he would 
return, when, jumping on my back, he 
would ride me furiously up and down the 
beach, and into the edge of the great 
breakers, that threatened to roU over me 
every minute; then telling me that he was 
trying to make his escape from the deso- 
late island, he would plunge me into the 
stream and keep me there, till he saw fit 
to turn back at last, as he always did, be- 
cause, as he said, we never could get away. 
Often if the water was too shallow to 
swim, I must walk, and then my legs, 
simken to my knees in the sand, would 
grow so cold and lame that I could scarcely 
pick them up and put them down again, 
till Kim was home. But he never seemed 
to think I could he tired, and if I tried 
to walk, he lashed and spurred me on most 
crueUy. 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


229 


If Kim^s father and mother had known 
how he abused me, I am sure they would 
have put a stop to it. 

It is never safe to give a pony to a 
boy, and let him use that pony as he 
chooses. Boys who have ponies should 
be watched! 

If the uncomplaining horse could turn 
about, and heap all the suffering on his 
master, that the master has heaped upon 
him, — that man would know better how 
to treat his horse in the futui’e than he 
has ever known before. 

As the weeks passed by and cold days 
came to freeze up the world, Kim and I 
galloped over the country together, just 
as we had in the summer. We did not 
visit the south shore so often, and for this 
I was glad, though Kim had taken a new 
character which worried me more than 
Eobinson Crusoe had done. Kim was a 
cow-boy* now, and he had two pistols tied 
to his belt, wore a hat as big as a woman’s, 
and carried a rope with him wherever he 
rode. I don’t know what he was trying 


230 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


to do, and I guess nobody else did im- 
less it was himself; for when he spurred 
and whipped me till I ran madly through 
the village streets, then he would stand 
in the stirrups, and throw that long rope 
straight out over the head of a horse or a 
dog; and sometimes he caught a little 
hoy with it, dragging him along till he 
fell, or some kind hand took the rope 
from his neck. 

I was in terror all the while, lest I 
should trample some person under my feet, 
for he delighted to charge upon any one 
who happened to be in his way. If I 
stopped, to save a life, I was kicked and 
lashed till I learned to dodge people, in- 
stead of running into them. 

You can easily see from what I have 
told you, how unhappy I was, here away 
from all my former associations. I hated 
Kim, and I could never forget the past. 
Razzle and Uncle Toby, Betty and Buntie 
and Billy and Boo, were dearer to me now 
than they ever had been in my life; and 
could any of them have come to me in my 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


231 


loneliness, I am sure I should have known 
them at once and been very thankful 
to see them, too. Nobody loved me here, 
for I grew more vicious each day. I heard 
Kim’s mother say she was afraid to have 
him ride me, for she expected I would 
kill him, every time he went out with me. 
There was not a child in the neighbour- 
hood who dared come near me, and not a 
horse in the bam for me to speak to, — 
not even a dog! 

The truth was, that since I came to the 
island, I had never done anything wicked, 
saving when I had been obliged to defend 
myself from Kim’s cruelty. No one knew 
this, though, for he was sly, and the dis- 
trust and fear of every person who came 
near me, were fast killing all the good left 
in me. 

In many ways I was more comfortable 
here with Kim, than I had been in the 
boarding stable, though there was much 
more to try me. He was emel, and his 
parents hated me, and I was so homesick 
for my old playmates that life was hard 


232 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


enough to bear. Yet the worst was stiU 
to come! 

The winter had dragged itself away, and 
some tiny yellow chickens were running 
around the barn floor. I had not been 
out of the stall for days, because as Kim 
said, the great umbrella overhead had 
shut up again, letting all the water in 
the sky fall down on us. It pattered on 
the roof of the barn with such a steady, 
sleepy sound that it left nothing for the 
chickens and me to do, but go to sleep, 
and stay till feed-time, or the sun came 
out. 

When at last I noticed the pattering on 
the roof had stopped, I opened my eyes 
and found that the world outside was 
all bright, and Kim had come home from 
school to give me my dinner. I suppose 
he had been shut up for so long that he 
felt cross just as I did — and perhaps he 
wanted something to happen — just as I 
did, too. If so, then we should both have 
been happy over what followed. 

After he gave me some hay, he came 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


233 


into my stall and began scattering straw 
under me for fresh bedding. He asked 
me to stand over/’ but his voice was 
so disagreeable, that it made me feel con- 
trary, and I didn’t obey. He spoke again 
in the same tone, and with the same re- 
sult, and then he did the most cruel thing 
that was ever inflicted on a pony — he 
stuck the pitch-fork into me! 

It hurt me so I can feel it now, while 
I am telling you about it. I don’t know 
why I did not hurt him in return, but I 
seemed dazed, and just stood there quietly 
waiting to see what was coming to me 
next. After this he went into the house 
for a Little while, and when he came back, 
he brought a saddle which he put on to 
me, strapping it so tightly over the wound 
left by the pitch-fork, that it made sharp 
pains run all down through my leg. Can 
you imagine what a condition I was in, 
and what my state of mind was when he 
rode me out of the bam? 

Earn had left his cow-boy clothes at 
home on that ride, and as soon as we passed 


234 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


through the gate, he struck me a sharp 
blow across the ears and said: 

Go long, Cap, you’re a lazy dog. Put 
for the south shore quick, for the sun is 
out, and I am Robinson Crusoe to-day! ” 

I heard his words but my temper was 
up! Perhaps I did not reason consciously, 
that in my present state of mind it was 
quite unlikely that either Kim or I, would 
reach the south shore that day. But I 
know now how impossible it would have 
been for me to have taken him carefully 
there, with the saddle hurting my side as 
it did, and with his constant yelling and 
striking me. 

When I reached the main road, I broke 
into a gallop, and then I began to run. 
He was not afraid of my running, so he 
laughed and lashed me the harder. We 
had almost come to the end of the village 
street, where a road leading to the south 
shore, turned sharply off to the right. 
Kim yanked the right rein of my bridle, 
and I sprang around the corner, to find 
myself suddenly wedged between a heavy 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


235 


ice-wagon and a man who was riding 
rapidly on a bicycle. If I could have 
stopped in my frantic run, all would have 
been well, but it was too late — I had lost 
control of myself. One plunge into a wheel 
of the ice-cart brought me back so vio- 
lently on to my hind legs, that Kim was 
tossed suddenly against the man on the 
bicycle, and they both rolled into the mud 
of the ditch. Of course they all yelled 
“ Whoa! ” while I was trying to get away 
from the cart, and make a dash for free- 
dom. But the bicycle was under my feet, 
I was too wild to guide myself, and the 
loud cries brought a man out of the store, 
who ran and grabbed my bridle. I felt 
the strength of an iron hand, and the fear 
of an iron will, flashing along the rein, 
as quivering in every nerve, I stood still, 
to find myself looking into the eyes of 
the man whom I dreaded most in all the 
world — Dick! 

How he came or where from I never 
knew. It was enough that he was here. 
No one realized that we had ever met 


236 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


before, and when Kim burst into tears, 
the bicycle man reeled off a lot of words 
which didn’t seem to have any meaning 
to them at all, and then he said: 

If I owned that blasted beast, Kim, 
I’d shoot him before night.” And the ice 
man said: So would 1.” 

All this time Dick had kept hold of 
my bridle without speaking, and now when 
he began to talk, his words struck terror 
to my heart. I heard him offering money 
to buy me, and Kim was in just the right 
mood to accept his offer. In less time 
than it takes to tell you about it, I was 
sold to Dick and he was leading me away. 


CHAPTER XXTTT 


I W3,s placed in a stable tbat afternoon 
where there were a lot of other horses, 
who looked kindly at me when Dick led 
me past their stalls. It was so long since 
I had been where there was any one to 
speak to, that I was glad to feel them near 
me during this, my greatest grief. 

I believe now as I look back over my 
life, that I had always feared this hour, 
for my instinct had whispered the warning 
that, sooner or later, Dick would succeed 
in carrying me away. There was some- 
thing in the man which made even a horse 
realize his power to obtain and control 
whatever he most wanted. 

The horses here in the stable seemed 
a happy comfortable lot, and after Dick 
left me in my stall, I was fed and cared 
for, but I did not see him again till 

237 


238 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


the next morning, when he came to lead 
me away. It was strange how quietly I 
followed him even when he turned to 
go down the steep drop leading to the 
steamer, and how, scarcely realizing what 
I did, I walked into the stuffy comer that 
I had occupied on that same boat when 
I had come to live with Kim. I had for- 
gotten my desire to feel Dick against the 
end of my heels, or even to pull at my 
halter to get away from him. In some 
mysterious way he had become my mas- 
ter — and as much as I hated him, my 
will was lost in his. Perhaps it was my 
old friend instinct again, telling me that 
he was cruel, and my life would be easier 
if I obeyed him. 

During our trip on the boat, Dick left 
me quite alone, and I was thankful for 
this. I did not mind the noise of the en- 
gine, or the strange trembling all around 
me, as I had done before. In fact nothing 
in my surroundings worried me, for I 
seemed to be dazed, and capable of remem- 
bering only one thing, which was that I 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


239 


belonged to Dick now, and he had a right 
to do whatever he chose with me. 

After several hours I was taken from 
the boat and put into a railroad train for 
a short ride, and then after being led to 
another wharf, I was stowed away in a 
musty corner of another boat, where I 
remained all night. 

When morning came and the steamer 
landed at a wharf I was pulled ashore by 
Dick, and hitched behind a cart that hap- 
pened to pass our way, Dick mounting 
the seat with the driver, while I trotted 
on behind. Well do I remember the jour- 
ney which followed. There were tufts of 
sweet-smelling grass growing by the road- 
side, and the tiny leaves on the trees were 
as green and tempting as the grass. Birds 
were calling to us from everywhere, as 
we passed through woods that were thicker 
and greener than any I had ever seen. I 
was just wondering where we were, when 
the old man driving the cart turned to 
Dick and said: 

Glad to git home be yer, Dickie? 


240 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


HainT no such woods as these anywhere 
outside the wilds of Maine. Here's where 
yer git yer pure country air, free and un- 
adulterated! " 

He spoke in a queer voice that squeaked 
like an old barn door which was hard to 
open, and it gave me the feeling that some- 
where, sometime, I had heard the same 
voice before. 

A wave of loneliness came over me, 
covering even the beautiful morning, and 
the grass, and trees, so I could not see 
them. I seemed to be back in the board- 
ing stable with Betty and Billy near me, 
where there was one kind horse friend, 
who never forgot to be good to me. And 
the squeaking voice had something to do 
with a grief which followed. 

I trotted along for miles, wondering 
and trying to remember, and then a 
strange thing happened. I could never tell 
why I acted as I did, but suddenly I 
threw up my head, scented the air, and 
whinnied with all my might. To my sur- 
prise the horse in the shafts stopped short, 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


241 


and answering my whinny in a joyous 
tone, almost turned around in his harness 
trying to see me. I could tell what he 
was doing by the motion of the wagon, but 
the men on the seat hid us from each 
other. 

There was no need to see, for the voice 
was enough. I knew, and so did he! The 
old man chirruped, and pulling on the 
reins said: “ Ger lang, ger lang! ” but 
his horse was loth to start; though when 
once he did, he trotted rapidly as if he 
were anxious to make the end of his joim- 
ney come quickly, whinnying every few 
imnutes to see if I were following. 

That was a hard trip, which took us 
from early morning till noon, before we 
reached our destination. My legs grew 
very tired trying to follow the other horse, 
though two or three times we stopped in 
the woods, while the men drank from a 
bottle, and lit their pipes. It was only 
for a minute but it rested me some, and 
then I stood the journey better because, 
in spite of my dismal outlook for the fu- 


242 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


ture, an old friend had come back into my 
life, and I was glad. The sun climbed 
higher as we trotted along, imtil it looked 
straight down upon us from overhead. 
The birds had stopped calling to us, just 
as I once heard Buntie say they always 
did, when it grew hot, because they were 
hiding in some leafy nook, and keeping 
very quiet, so the sun could never find 
them. But at length as we went further 
into the country, passing beautiful fields 
where clover would be blooming later, and 
going through wonderful woods, we 
stopped in front of a lane which seemed 
to lead nowhere but into a dense forest. 

Both men got out of the wagon, and the 
old farmer, who still wore the bunch of 
straw sticking out from his chin, led me 
up beside his own horse, where he looked 
me over with a great deal of interest. 
It was only a short time that I was al- 
lowed to stand there, but it was enough 
to make sure that the horse in the shafts, 
was twisting his neck around so he could 
see me, and that I was looking into the 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


243 


one gentle eye of old black Pete. We 
botb spoke at once, and I know we both 
were glad. I was just about to tell him 
how well and happy he was looking, when 
Dick grabbed my bridle, and the old farmer 
picking up his reins, called to Pete to go 
on. I could see Pete keep his one eye upon 
me, till a high place in the stone- wall came 
between us, and then he whinnied back that 
we woidd meet again, for he did not live 
far away. 

There was nothing left now for me to 
do, but walk demurely up the lane behind 
Dick. As far as I could see ahead of us, 
a grass-grown path led away into the 
shade of huge, dark green trees. And just 
behind a bend in the path, almost into 
the woods, overhimg by one of those whis- 
pering trees, I saw a wretched little bam, 
or hovel, half standing, half falling — j’-et 
evidently holding something of interest to 
Dick, for he jerked my bridle rein and 
said: 

“ Come on. Cap, cheer up, we are al- 
most home.” Then he whistled that low. 


244 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


threatening note of his, which always made 
me feel as if I wanted to gallop away, till 
I had put the whole pasture between him 
and me. But he held me firmly by the hal- 
ter, even though my last hope of escaping 
him had gone. Dick seemed to feel just 
as I have many a time at home, when 
after a long journey I saw the bam door 
open, and knew a nice supper was wait- 
ing there for me. The nearer he came to 
the house the faster he walked, as if he 
expected something pleasant about to hap- 
pen, so that I had to trot a little to keep 
up with him. 

There was a tall lilac-bush in front of 
the house, which hid the door from us, 
and as we passed around the bush, and 
Dick started into a run, the figure of a 
small man, wearing blue clothes trimmed 
with bright buttons, appeared in the door- 
way. He stood looking at us for a minute, 
and then lifting to his shoulder a heavy 
gun that he held in his hand, he came 
slowly forward to meet us. 

Dick scarcely noticed him, and turned 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


245 


out as though he would pass without 
speaking. But the old man stopped, and 
putting his hand gently on my head said: 

Yer ain’t a goin’ ter take this little 
horse in there be yer, Dickie? She’s bet- 
ter, but she’s sleepin’ now, and mebby he 
might frighten her! ” Dick yanked again 
roughly at my rein, and muttering some- 
thing about thanking folks to let his fam- 
ily alone, and mind their own business, 
he started on. But the little man was 
not to be trifled with, as calling, Halt! ” 
in a clear loud voice, he jumped so quickly 
into Dick’s path that it startled me, and 
I jumped back. 

I saw then when he came nearer to 
me, that he was not so old as he had 
seemed, and that for some reason my 
high-handed master had stopped when he 
told him to, as though afraid of him. 
‘‘Dick,” he said very quietly, “You are 
to hitch that animal outside while I go 
in and wake her up, as gently as I can, 
to tell her you have come. I’m thinkin’ 
she won’t be over- joyed at the news. It’s 


246 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


a nice kind of a father you be, any way, 
ter leave a child like her alone, with 
nothin’ ter eat, and she not able ter help 
herself ter that. If yer ever do it again, 
I’ll take her home with me, or give her 
to Aunt Sally, and you’ll never git her 
back.” 

Then he took me by the bridle, and led 
me to the house, leaving Dick to whimper 
something about his old friend Peter must 
be good to him, because he was a broken- 
hearted father. 

While Peter was tying me to a little 
iron ring on the door-step Dick seemed 
to brighten up. He smiled and patted 
my neck as he said to Peter: ‘‘ Hurry 
up now, old man, if yer must wake her 
up yerself ! I have an idea that somethin’s 
goin’ ter happen when she claps her eye 
on this little beast.” 

I could hear Peter moving about inside 
for some minutes, while Dick stood on 
the step waiting, with a look in his eyes 
as though his whole life depended on what 
was about to happen. 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


247 


I heard the voice of a child crying, and 
Peter talking to it just as Uncle Toby 
used to talk to Buntie and Boo, — so low 
and gentle — and then Peter called: 

“ Come in, Dick. She’s awake! ” 

The strangest thing in all my life took 
place now, when Dick led me over the 
steps into that miserable hovel he called 
home. It was a large low room, over one 
end of which a scaffold had been built 
to stow away hay or grain; and beneath 
this scaffold, the little green tufts of grass 
were springing up from the groimd, be- 
tween the naked floor beams. It was here 
in this corner, where some of the beams 
had rotted away, that I was hitched and 
left to look upon my new surroundings. 

Across the other end of the room a board 
floor had been laid, and in the comer op- 
posite me, I saw a child lying on a couch 
in front of the one window which had not 
been broken and boarded over. Little 
dots of sunlight fluttered into her golden 
curls, that were trying to run away over 
the pillow, but had got hitched together 


248 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


here and there, and lay like tangled fleece, 
caught on the bushes in the pasture! Her 
face was turned away from me and her 
arms were clasped tightly around the neck 
of a huge dog, who had thrown himself 
across her as though to protect her from 
any intruder. She kept her eyes away 
as if she were afraid to look at Dick, who 
was standing very near her now; but I 
did not need to see more, I knew, I knew! 
and then I spoke to her three times, so 
joyously that my voice filled all the room, 
and startled the old dog, as though some 
one had suddenly pulled his tail. He 
freed himself with one jump from the 
child’s arms, looked at me just for an 
instant, and then he was on my back, or 
jumping up from the ground to lap my 
face, or nipping my nose, barking wildly, 
and playing such antics as only my old 
friend Billy, had ever dared to play with 
me. 

All this time, while Billy was trying 
to make me understand how glad he was 
to see me, Dick and Peter were watching 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


249 


Betty. She sat up when I whinnied, and 
looked at me, and for one brief moment 
she held out her hand and laughed. Then 
Dick spoke to her, but at sound of his 
voice all the light died out of her eyes, 
and she laid back on the pillow without 
speaking. 

I could never teU you how disappointed 
I was, for I wanted her to get up and 
come to me. She still kept her eyes on 
me, and there was no doubt but this was 
Betty. Yet even while she looked at me, 
I had the feeling that she did not see 
me, or if she did, she had wholly for- 
gotten that I was Captain Jinks, or that 
we ever rode and played together over the 
fields of Helendale. 


CHAPTER XXIV 

After a while Betty turned her head 
away from me, when calling Billy back 
to her, she nestled down beside him and 
seemed to sleep. Dick drew a heavy 
breath as if he had been trotting up hill, 
and then he covered his face with both 
hands. Peter sat on the floor close to 
Betty’s couch, looking at Dick, but he 
did not speak. It was a long time to me 
that they sat like this, while I had nothing 
to do but wonder at the strangeness of 
Betty’s eyes, and to watch Peter. I could 
not help doing the last, even if I tried, 
for there was something in the man’s face 
which affected me just as Uncle Toby’s 
did the first time I recognized him; and 
something of the same love and trust 
passed into my life, never wholly to pass 
260 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


251 


out again. In all the months of loneliness 
and abuse which I had suffered, here was 
the first person who had come to me whom 
I could love instinctively, and wish to 
serve. 

It was strange how quickly I trusted 
Peter, for he was a funny little man 
wholly unlike any one I had ever seen. 
And he looked quaint enough now as 
he sat there on the fioor, with his short 
blue-covered legs stretched out, and the 
huge old gun lying across them. There 
was a queer bulging look, too, about his 
back, as though he carried a heavy pack 
on his saddle, — but one forgot all these 
things because his face and voice were 
so kind and gentle. 

At length the long silence was broken 
by Peter, who bent over Dick to pull his 
hands down from his face: 

Cheer up, Dickie, mebby things hain’t 
so bad as they seem; and if they be, it’s 
nobody’s fault but yer own I reckon, so 
stand up and bear it like a man. Yer 
always was a chicken-hearted soldier, 


252 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


Dick, and tke’s not one of yer old neigh- 
bours around here who knows anything 
about yer life. Jest as we think weVe 
got yer, yer off again, and it always seems 
ter me as though yer go back into the 
army enlistin’ on the devil’s side, till 
yer find he’s poor pay, and then yer 
march home, expectin’ yer friends ter sup- 
ply yer wants somehow, and start yer out 
in the same service again. I tell yer, Dick, 
it hain’t the way ter do! 

‘‘We ain’t never asked yer many ques- 
tions about yer life away from home, but 
I’m goin’ ter ask yer things now, because 
I think I ought to. It’s about this little 
girl here, this child you say is youm. Now 
so far as I can tell, nobody ever heard of 
your gettin’ married. But if you did, and 
this little critter is youm, then the’s one 
thing I’m certain about, Dick, and it is 
that the mother who rocked her in her 
arms, was made out of different stock 
from what you was; and I hain’t afraid 
ter bet right here, that the’ ain’t one drop 
of your blood er runnin’ in that child’s 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


253 


veins. Come now, own up to it— or I’ll 
make yer sorry if yer don’t! ” 

Peter’s voice had lost its gentle tone, 
and I think a person out by the lilac tree 
could have heard every word he spoke. 

I learned afterward, that when Dick took 
two or three drinks from the bottle he 
carried in his pocket, that he always 
laughed and talked a great deal at first, 
though later he became so cross we were 
terribly afraid of him, and tried as best 
we could to keep out of his way, and not 
offend him. To-day he had taken just 
liquor enough to feel good natured, and 
now as Peter looked into his face he re- 
sponded in spite of himself, just as I did 
when Peter looked at me. 

Dick got up, and stooping over Betty 
tried to stroke her curls, but when Billy 
growled fiercely, he drew back, with a 
laugh that had something in it not al- 
together happy. ,When he sat down again, 
a change had come over his face, and I 
knew by his voice that the words he 
spoke were true: 


254 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


It’s no use, Peter, you’re all against me. 
Even that pony over there kicks and bites 
me every chance he can get, the dog 
growls when I go near Betty, and she 
won’t look at me or let me touch her. 
They say the’s something wrong with 
a man, when children and animals hate 
him; and I guess it’s so true in my case, 
that I’d better own up. 

‘‘You see, Peter, it’s this way. Some 
time ago when I was travelling with a 
circus, away out in Wisconsin, I met that 
pony on the street. He was scared almost 
to death of the steam piano, and I guess 
if I hadn’t a come to the rescue, mebby 
he would have killed the children drivin’ 
him. Somehow I took a fancy to that 
critter, and I found out where he lived, 
and tried to steal him in the night. I 
would have got him and carried him off 
in the circus train, but that dog a layin’ 
there side of Betty put himself in my 
way, by making me understand that ’twas 
safer to show him my back than my face; 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


255 


and that the safest thing to do, was to 
use my heels. 

Somehow the company got away from 
town that night without me, and a few 
days later I shaved off my beard, so the 
children wouldn^t know me, and hired out 
with Captain Jinks’ master to take care 
of his horses. I don’t think the children 
or the critters on the farm loved me any 
more than I did them, but I was there 
for just one thing, and that was to own 
this pony. It was nobody’s fault but mine 
that I didn’t get away with him, for I 
tipped the bottle too many times one fine 
morning, and I killed a valuable pony, 
because I did not know what I was doing. 
After that I lit out and forgot all about 
my western friends, for a long time. Then 
one day I was somewhere with the circus, 
and I must have been drinking a good 
deal, for I wandered off into the woods 
near the circus field, hoping to get a 
nap. 

I can’t remember much of what hap- 


256 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


pened, only that I came across a child 
and dog asleep. The child was strange 
to me, but the dog was Billy. He knew 
me at once and growled at me just as 
he always had, when I worked for his 
western master. I owed him a grudge 
of long standing, and I suppose I was 
just ugly enough to carry away that little 
girl, to worry him. I wonder that Billy 
let me do it, but I suppose he knew she 
was lost, and hoped I would take her 
home. I wonder, too, that I allowed him 
to foUow, but a man does strange things 
when his head is fired with drink. 

‘‘ I must have kept Betty out of sight, 
for when I came to my senses several days 
later, we had been put off the train at 
Eockland. One of the boys who brought 
us home, said nobody knew where I picked 
up my family so suddenly, but since I 
was good for nothing so much of the time, 
they decided to send me home. He said 
too, that I confessed the child was mine 
— so I have stuck to it ever since. 

The fact is, Peter, I don’t know who 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


257 


Betty is, and she doesn’t seem to know 
herself, anything beside the fact that she 
was called Betty. I can’t tell whether 
she is foolish, or has had some terrible 
sickness that has taken away her memory. 
If I could find out who she is, mebby 
I could get a reward for her, but as it 
is, it’s pretty hard on me, for I can’t 
afford to feed her, and I don’t dare to 
turn her over to any officers, because they 
are looking for a feller about like me, 
and have been, for some time. My only 
clue to her relatives, is the dog, and I’m 
afraid to let his master know where I 
am — he’s looking for me too! 

It happened that a few weeks after I 
brought Betty and BiUy here, I was called 
away on a little matter of business. For 
once, luck seemed to be with me, and it 
gave me a jolly surprise too! When I 
walked into a baggage car on a New Bed- 
ford train, imagine my amazement to find 
that pony there, hitched near the door, and 
looking at me as though the very sight 
of me froze him stiff. Why it took my 


258 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


breath away, for I didn’t know he was 
anywhere this side of Wisconsin. It didn’t 
take me long though, when I found it really 
was Cap, to put two and two together, and 
decide that his being in the east had some- 
thing to do with Betty and Billy — and 
perhaps his present journey was on accoimt 
of her being lost. 

‘‘ After that I followed him to the Vine- 
yard boat, and found out that he was 
booked for the Island. My heart went 
down then, for I knew I could never steal 
him away from that place. A thief hasn’t 
much use for a town that is out to sea, 
and has only one boat a day to help him 
away with his booty. 

I came back here again that night, 
and I thought Betty seemed a little 
brighter than she had been. Her eyes 
had a different look in them, and when I 
spoke of Captain Jinks to her, there was 
a flash of light in them that set me think- 
ing. Somehow I got a notion that if I 
could bring that pony here, and put him 
suddenly before her, it might make her 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


259 


remember, and tell who she was, and 
where she had known Caj). 

''Well after a long time, I carried out 
my plan, and you see what the result is. 
Do you blame me for being disappointed 
when I spent real money for that little 
beast? 

Dick turned here, and gave me such a 
look of hatred that I longed to tell him 
that I wore shoes now, and to let him feel 
how hard they could be. I heard Peter 
asking him some questions about my old 
master, and where he lived, and then I 
saw Dick turn upon him as though sud- 
denly angry, while he ended up by say- 
ing: 

" When you find that out. I’ll be older 
and sillier than I am now! Perhaps you 
would like to know, so you could write 
to him and tell him all about me and my 
family. I tell you they are miiie now, and 
if there’s any money to be had out of them, 
that’s mine too, and not yourn.” 

Peter made no reply, but leaned over 
Betty then, and while he patted her curls. 


260 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


Billy reached up and licked his hand lov- 
ingly. Afterwards he went away, and just 
as he passed me, I heard him say: 

“Now don’t yer worry, little ones, fer 
we’ll see that yer taken care of.” 

As he tramped slowly out the lane 
carrying his heavy old gun, and I heard 
him going farther and farther away, I 
realized that my heart grew fainter, with 
each of his far away steps. 


CHAPTEE XXV 


I do not think Betty knew when Peter 
left the house, for she did not open her 
eyes, but seemed to sleep on till the sun 
had gone away from her curls and black 
shadows began to fill up the comers of 
the room. Dick was very much excited 
after Peter went away, and he walked 
the floor for some time till his feet were 
too tired to take him where he wanted to 
go, but just wound themselves in and out 
around each other, so that he walked one- 
sided, and finally dropped on the floor in 
a heap, where I heard him breathing as 
heavily as a pig all night long. 

When Dick went to sleep, Billy became 
very wide awake, though he still lay close 
to Betty on the couch; and every time he 
heard a sound outside he growled, while 
he looked over to me at the same time 
261 


262 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


wagging his tail as much as to say: I am 
not growling at you, for we are friends 
you know, old friends tried and true! You 
can never imagine how safe it made me 
feel to know that he was watching Betty 
with a tender care that would keep all bru- 
tal treatment from her. But who would 
be a mother to the dear child, and who 
would feed her if Dick kept on sleeping all 
night? This thought clung to me till I 
began to realize that I was hungry my- 
self, and night was turning every thing 
black in the woods around us. The birds 
had been having a great frolic in the pine 
trees behind our house, but they had all 
gone to sleep with Betty, now, saving one 
who seemed to be standing on the roof 
over my head, pouring out a low, hungry 
song, that sounded like the swish of a long 
whip, up and down, up and down through 
the air. It was the loneliest sound I ever 
had heard, and it made me ask more and 
more: “ Who will feed Betty now, who 
will care for my little mistress? ” 

If I could have spoken so Dick would 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


263 


understand, I should have screamed this 
question into his ear; as it was I had to 
be content with saying to Billy: “ Who 
will feed Betty and me, if he sleeps all 
night? ” 

Billy just looked very knowing and 
said: “ Wait and see.” 

I did not have long to wait though, for 
almost instantly I heard a stealthy step 
on the walk outside and saw Peter’s face 
peeping in at the door. He looked at 
Dick lying on the floor asleep, and he 
muttered: “ Jest what I thought, the fool 
has been a drinkin’ again! I’ll find out 
who this baby is, and I’ll take her away 
from him or my name hain’t Peter Over- 
look. That’s all the’ is to it, any way! ” 
Peter stood with his back to the door, 
looking at Betty with just the same light 
in his eyes that I had seen in Uncle 
Toby’s, when he looked at the children; 
and something told me that he loved her, 
and would care for her in spite of Dick. 
It was so dark in the room that I sup- 
pose men and women could not see very 


264 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


well, but I could, of course, as horses al- 
ways can in the night. And it so hap- 
pened that while Peter stood peering 
through the dark at Betty, a qvieer little 
woman crept in through the door. She 
came so noiselessly that I looked to find 
out if she had wings, on which she had 
fluttered in like a bird, but she wore a 
faded old shawl aroimd her, so I could 
not see. It seemed that she could not see 
very well either, for when she tried so 
hard in the dark to look around, she 
couldn’t make her eyes go the way she 
wanted them to; because they were bent 
in toward her nose, so that one of them 
looked at Betty, and the other one looked 
at me. 

But she didn’t stop to see, she just 
fluttered on till she bumped into Peter so 
hard that it took his breath away, and 
nearly knocked him over. He did not 
seem at all surprised at her being there, 
but she was quite startled, and cried out: 

My land, Peter, why don’t you look to 
see where you are a going? ” Peter only 





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CAPTAIN JINKS 


265 


smiled back in his quiet way and said: 
“ Well, Sally, I’m sorry I scat yer, but 
I’m jest a thinkin’ it would be pretty 
hard work fer a feller ter try ter go the 
way you’r a lookin’! ” They both laughed 
after this, and then they began talking 
in a low voice as though they were afraid 
some one would hear them. They never 
dreamed that Billy and I were listening, 
and that their words were bringing joy to 
our hearts. But oh, if I could have spoken 
to them, I would have made them gladder 
still! for I could have told them who Betty 
was, and where Uncle Toby lived. And 
these were the things they wanted most 
to know. 

After they whispered together for a 
long time, I saw Aimt Sally take the old 
shawl off her shoulders — but I couldn’t 
see any wings— and then she stooped over 
and wound it around Betty very carefully, 
till I could not have told there was any 
little girl there, in the faded bundle that 
she made. Then Peter took the bundle 
up in his arms and they stole away so 


266 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


still, that I could not hear a sound of them, 
after they left the room. 

I thought that Billy would follow Betty 
and her new friends, or forbid them to 
take her away, but he was too wise, it 
seemed, to do either. He just trotted as 
far as the door with them, wagging his 
tail in the most polite and joyous way, and 
then he came over and cuddled down close 
beside me on the ground. I believe that 
my old friend, instinct, was his too, and 
that it told him Betty would be safe with 
Peter and Sally, because they were good 
and kind. He had no fear for her now, 
but he knew I still remained in Dick’s 
hands, and he must guard me. After this 
he kept very close to my side, never leav- 
ing me, only for a short time each day, 
when he went to visit Betty at Aimt 
Sally’s. 

It was hard for me to sleep that night, 
because I kept smelling the juicy green 
grass all around me— yet so far away that 
I could not reach it. I had not been fed 
since morning and I was very hur:gry. I 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


267 


don’t know when Billy had eaten, for he 
said not a word, but just stretched his 
nose out on his paws, and made believe 
sleep— though he started and growled 
every time Dick moved. 

After a long while the birds awoke and 
began to play, and it grew light between 
the boards in the roof, so I knew day had 
come. I am sure it must have been late 
when Dick opened his eyes and discovered 
that Betty was gone. He looked angry 
at first, then he laughed, and holding on to 
his head with both hands, as if he were 
afraid of losing it off, he went over and 
threw himself on the couch, where he lay 
thinking for some time. 

When he worked for Uncle Toby, Dick 
seemed to feel that I was valuable because 
I learned to do things easily. This was 
the reason he wanted so much to own me, 
and it was strange to me now, that he had 
forgotten all about my tricks, or the 
money he thought they would bring him. 
However this might be, he never asked 
me to do a trick, and I never felt like try- 


268 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


ing, because Uncle Toby bad liked so 
much to see me do them, that the thought 
of them made me miss him more than 
anything else. 

The days of that summer passed slowly 
to me, for I was kept tied nearly all the 
time, where I could smell my own open 
world outside, though it was shut away 
from me by a few cracked boards, which 
Dick called home. He was gone a good 
deal of the time, and then I fared poorly. 
Often I stood aU day and all night, hitched 
to one of the floor beams by a short heavy 
rope. It was hard to lie down unless I 
got the rope in a certain place, and I had 
nothing to eat. I could feel myself failing, 
growing both thinner and weaker every 
day. And in those hours, all the dear ones 
came to my mind, till becoming desperate, 
I ran back and forward, pulling at my 
halter, and calling to them over and again, 
so loudly that I felt sure they must hear. 
But they never came. 

Dick was very friendly with the old 
man who had bought black Pete, and I 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


269 


fancy that when he left me so long alone, 
they were together, drinking out of the 
dark bottle. Sometimes the farmer would 
come and take him away, and when he 
came back he was always holding his head 
on, and the least thing from Billy or me, 
would provoke him to kick, strike, and 
abuse us most cruelly. At such times 
Billy never left me alone, and I was thank- 
ful indeed, to him, for his company and 
protection. 

There were days together, though, when 
Dick would bring home food to the little 
house, where he would live quietly, eating 
and sleeping the time away. I must con- 
fess that during these days, he was very 
kind to Billy and me, often sharing his 
food with us, and even petting us if we 
were gentle enough to allow him to come 
near. 

As the days grew cooler, and I had lived 
for a long while with Dick, I began to lose 
my horror of him, because I realized that 
although he could be very cruel, and 
though he had stolen and done many 


270 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


wicked things, yet he was not all bad; for 
there was some love left in him, and some 
craving for affection,— even from Billy 
and me. I am sure if he had been given 
more kind, good friends, in his life, that 
he would have been different. But every 
thing was against him— even himself. 

I used to wonder often why Dick never 
rode or drove me, and I longed, more than 
you can understand, for a run in the open 
air. But he always acted as though he 
kept me out of sight because he was afraid 
to have any one see me. Why this was I 
never could tell, unless he had done so 
many wrong things which he had been 
obliged to hide, that he had fallen into the 
habit of travelling on the hard side of the 
road, so as never to leave a foot-print be- 
hind him. 

This of course made my life much more 
dreary than it would have been otherwise; 
for an animal shut up in the bam all the 
time, can never be happy or well. 

Neither Peter, nor Aimt Sally, realized 
at first that Dick went away so much to 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


271 


leave me alone and unfed. Peter came to 
the house often, but it so happened that he 
always found Dick at home. Had he sus- 
pected the real conditions of my life, I am 
sure he would have helped me. But I 
could not tell him! 

The fact that animals do not complain, 
is one of the greatest reasons I believe, 
why their owners should be kind to them, 
and careful of them. I have known horses 
when they were suffering terribly, to work 
in the harness, drawing heavy loads with- 
out one word of complaint; though by and 
by they dropped in the road, never to rise 
again. And their masters had not known 
till it was too late. 

At length during the latter part of the 
summer, there came a dark rainy week 
in which Dick, and Billy, and I, were 
housed together. Dick was in wretched 
spirits, and he rarely slept at all, day or 
night. Sometimes he would put on his 
coat and hat, but as soon as he opened the 
door, he closed it again with a bang, when 
turning back into the room, he would walk 


272 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


the floor for hours, looking unhappy, and 
starting at every sound. 

At last the rain stopped, and when the 
flrst sunbeam shone across our floor, it 
seemed to bring the old farmer with it, 
for he stepped into the room the same 
minute it came. Dick looked glad to see 
him, and in a very short time they were 
gone, taking Billy with them, and I was 
left alone. 

For two days and nights I lived without 
food or drink. The rain had run in under 
the building, soaking the ground where I 
stood, until my feet were buried deep in 
the mud. I had given up pulling at my 
halter, because I had neither strength nor 
courage left, for any effort. I was stand- 
ing on four wilted legs, with my eyes 
closed, when the door opened, and Aimt 
SaUy suddenly fluttered into the room. 

She always seemed like a little grey bird 
to me, she moved so swiftly, and yet so 
still, and there was such a bird-like look 
to her tiny mouth and chin. Then she 
wore something light, with lots of ends 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


273 


to it, standing up from the crown of her 
head, just like a chicken with a topknot. 
I always loved to see her come in, but 
this morning she was as welcome to me as 
the clearest pool of water, or the tallest 
sweetest bunch of alfalfa blossoms, could 
ever have been. I felt new Life at sight 
of her, and awoke at once. 

When she came over to where I was 
standing, and saw my feet in the mud, and 
realized that I was suffering, she laid her 
face gently against mine, and said: 

It’s a shame. Captain, a mean shame 
to leave you standing here alone. I be- 
lieve I’ll hitch you outside.” 

When I heard this I began to tease her, 
in what Uncle Toby would have called a 
soft little whicker,” for I was so afraid 
she would not understand. But she did, 
and as soon as she could untie my rope, 
she led me out into the bright pure air. 

Can you imagine how I felt? I am sure 
there was never air so sweet as this, or 
pony heart so grateful. 

Aunt Sally held my rope in her strong 


274 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


little hands, for she intended hitching me 
to the lilac tree. But this was some dis- 
tance from the house, and there were all 
sorts of sweet bits growing in my path, 
so how could I, hungry as I was, pass 
them by without a nibble? I tasted one, 
and another, and then I made a jump for 
a near-by knoll, where the grass looked 
greener than all the rest. Aunt Sally was 
not used to pony antics, and when I did 
this, I quite surprised her, by yanking the 
rope out of her hands. 

Now what do you think happened? Do 
you imagine that a pony shut up for 
weeks, half fed and cared for, stood still 
to be caught again when he found him- 
self free? 

The last I saw of Aunt Sally that morn- 
ing, she was wearing a very worried look 
on her face, and every little string on her 
cap was flying in the wind, as she headed 
up the road toward Peter’s house, as fast 
as ever a person could go, who had only 
two legs to trot on. 

As for me, the cool, great trees were 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


275 


calling me into the woods, for my instinct 
told me that somewhere, not far away, I 
would find God had provided for my 
thirst, as well as my hunger. Running 
along the edge of the woods, I saw a fence, 
but when I got to it I found it so broken 
in many places, that I could easily step 
over it, into what seemed to be a part of 
somebody’s pasture. 

Just ahead of me was a path made by 
the footprints of many animals, as though 
it were travelled constantly. It was only 
natural that I should follow this path, and 
I very soon found myself near a running 
stream. I could not see it, but I heard it, 
and oh, the joy it brought to my homesick 
heart! I had not seen a brook, or river, 
since I left Helendale, and I was very 
thirsty too. 

Instinct whispered to me that I would 
be very sure to find the water if I kept 
the path, and at last I was rewarded by 
a glimpse through the trees, of something 
sparkling in the sun. I was almost there, 
when a crackling of bushes in front of me 


276 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


made me stop to listen, and I saw a crea- 
ture dart across my path, and gliding 
through the bushes as easily as if they 
parted to let him through, leap into the 
river and swim down the stream out of 
sight. 

The next minute I had waded into the 
water, and was drinking, drinking, as 
though I never could stop, till a voice 
close behind me said: 

Well, I declare, I believe it is you! I 
thought it was, when I passed you in the 
woods. But how on earth came you 
here?’’ 

When I turned aroimd, a beautiful deer 
was standing beside me, and I recognized 
him as the very one who had travelled in 
the car with me, when I came from Helen- 
dale. My heart went out to meet him in- 
stantly, and I would have told him of all 
the troubles I had endured since we 
parted. But he was very nervous and 
restless, and would not stand still long 
enough for me to talk. He said he was 
free now, free in his own beloved woods. 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


277 


for he had escaped his keeper. But he 
was not happy, even now, for he was al- 
ways conscious of being hunted by men 
who carried gims! 

Poor soul, I pitied him, and I began to 
feel that my own lot was not the hardest 
in the world after all, for suffer as I might, 
no one himted me, with the purpose of 
killing me for sport! 

He heard a rustling of bushes in the 
distance, and it startled him so that he 
called out: “ Good-bye,” and with one 
leap into the water he was gone, and I 
never saw him again. 

On my way home, I found black Pete 
standing directly across my path, to rub 
his neck against the trunk of a big tree. 
I cannot tell you how glad I was to see 
him, for he seemed like a part of my other 
life, when Betty looked at me with eyes 
that could see, and wound her warm little 
arms around my neck. How I wished I 
might have her again as she was in the 
olden days! 

Pete looked sleek and well fed, and he 


2,78 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


told me that his master was kind to him, 
and he hoped to live with him always. He 
told me too, that Dick was with his mas- 
ter, and that they had been shut into the 
house together for two or three days. 

I might have stayed away from home 
that night, but Sally had run for Peter, 
who came after me, and hitched me so 
tight to the lilac tree, that I couldn’t get 
away again. But I was out under the 
open sky, and there was plenty of grass — 
so I was happy. 


CHAPTER XXVI 


During all the weeks which had passed 
since Betty was carried out of the house, 
I had never seen her. I heard from her 
often through Billy, and I also heard Peter 
tell Dick that she was getting better every 
day. He said Aunt Sally was very good 
to her, and would cure her if anybody 
could. Of course this made me glad, for 
I longed to see her well again, and able 
to tell them who she was. 

After Peter hitched me to the lilac tree, 
I stayed there another day and night, 
before I saw Dick coming home through 
the woods, with Billy walking close to his 
heels, as though he had been whipped; 
and I believe he had, else he would have 
come back to me long ago. Somehow his 
master had begun to control him, as he 
did me. 


279 


280 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


When Dick saw me hitched outside, he 
was surprised enough, and angry, too. 
He did not stop to unhitch me and take 
me with him, as I thought he would, but 
he went as fast as his tired legs could 
carry him straight past me into the house. 
When he came out he held a whip in his 
hands, that had a long cruel lash on the 
end of it. 

I knew then what was coming, and the 
memory of that hour is still too painful 
for me to recall. I would not dwell upon 
it, to make sad the friends who read my 
story, but would rather touch it briefly 
just to give you a clue to the happier days 
that followed. 

It is enough to say that I was lashed 
and tom with the whip, till Billy, forget- 
ting his fear of Dick, came to my rescue. 
And oh, I shudder to tell you how cruelly 
my noble dog friend was wounded, before 
that quarrel ended, and Dick staggered 
away into the house! 

I lay on the ground that night, and all 
the next day, too sick to eat, and too 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


281 


heart-broken also, for I could hear Billy 
somewhere in the bushes not far away, 
crying with the pain in his neck. I knew 
he must be very feeble, or he would 
have come over where I was to comfort 
me. 

At last toward noon of the second day, 
when I had strained my rope around the 
trunk of a big tree, to look for some grass 
which I had not nibbled, I became con- 
scious that Billy was slowly crawling over 
towards me. He seemed to gain strength 
with moving, and I saw as he came nearer, 
that he had an ugly wound in his neck, 
close to his collar, which was pressing 
hard upon it and causing him great pain. 

His suffering caused me pain too, when 
I remembered that it was all on my ac- 
count. I was eager to help him, and I 
could see that it was hard for him to walk, 
so forgetting that I was hitched, I sprang 
forward to meet him. 

I never knew how it happened that 
when I made that leap, the rope which had 
caught under one of my shoes, broke and 


282 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


set me free. I believe that some khad 
power planned it so, for with the parting 
of that rope I seemed to part with my 
sorrow leaving all the troubles of a life- 
time behind me. 

Billy realized what had happened at 
once, and I believe he formed plans too, 
that minute, which I was not able to un- 
derstand. As for me, the thought of free- 
dom was too good to be true, and I looked 
aroimd toward the house, half expecting 
to see Dick stagger out and hitch me 
again. But no Dick appeared, and Billy 
gave a low bark of delight. I am sure 
he would have jumped all over me if he 
had been well, but now he only wagged 
his tail and started off down the road, 
telling me to follow him. 

I did not know where he was going, but 
I did know that he had often guided me 
better without reins, than most drivers had 
done with them; so I walked along behind 
him asking no questions. It was very 
hard for him to walk, and every few min- 
utes he laid down beside the road to rest, 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


283 


wMle I nibbled the grass near biy n tiU lie 
was ready to go on. 

I found myself lame too, and quite will- 
ing to move as slowly as Billy wished. 
But it was not a long journey he was ta- 
king me on, as you shall see, for after we 
had limped up one side of a big hill and 
down the other, I saw just at the foot of 
it a small dapple-gray house, that seemed 
to be leaning toward us, and had spread 
out its lower part as though it had tried 
to move, but was still straining in the har- 
ness, under the weight of a tipping load. 
There was a tiny barn a little behind the 
house, with a fence around the front of it, 
but the door-yard was open, and a tall 
tree standing over the path leading to the 
door, was rustling its big, brown-gold 
leaves, in the sunshine. 

When Billy saw the place he looked at 
me and laughed, giving a sharp joyous 
bark, and then he tried to go faster, as 
if he could not get there soon enough. 

As we drew nearer the house, I saw 
some one rocking in a chair under the tree, 


284 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


and when we turned into the yard, I rec- 
ognized Aunt Sally, who was cuddling Betty 
close in her arms. 

I wish you could have seen their faces 
when they looked at Billy and me! Avmt 
Sally knew at once that we had been hurt 
and were sick, and she jumped up so 
quickly that she lost her lap, and spilled 
Betty out on the ground. 

And then I saw my little mistress! She 
stood there looking at me with the sun 
lighting bright sparkles in her curls, just 
as it used to do at Helendale, and all the 
roses had come back to her cheeks again, 
—yet she was not quite my Betty. There 
was still something strange in her eyes, 
and while she stared at me in wonder, I 
noticed that she held her hand to her head, 
and tied her face aU up in little lines, as 
though it was very hard for her to think. 
Of course she knew Billy for she had never 
had time to forget him, and now she 
turned away from me, with a sad look on 
her face, as if she wanted to remember 
but could not, and laid her hand upon her 









n vW^ 



<r« ' 

H^r ^ 




r j 


ii 

)< 



u 


SHE POUNDED AGAINST THE SHED DOOR AS IF SHE 
WANTED TO PUNISH IT FOR SOMETHING/' 





CAPTAIN JINKS 


285 


head. All this while Aunt Sally had flut- 
tered around me, looking at the marks of 
Dick’s whip left upon my flanks. Then 
she went over to BiUy and examined his 
head, scolding all the time: 

My stars and garters, I never heard 
tell of such works as this! I saw red beef 
in my dreams all night last night, and I 
knew somethin’ bad was goin’ ter happen. 
It’s a sure sign! Dear me, I wish Peter 
would come and take care of these poor 
animals. If he had only gone ter war, and 
done with it, he wouldn’t a been thinkin’ 
aU the time about that old blue coat and 
big gun of his; mebby then he’d remember 
his neighbours oftener! ” 

I could see that she was growing very 
much excited, for she ran into the house 
and out again, bringing a long, heavy 
stick, with which she poimded against the 
shed door as if she wanted to punish it 
for something; over and over she pounded, 
till it seemed to be hitting the trees in the 
woods back of the house, every time she 
hit the door. 


286 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


Just beyond Sally’s yard there was a 
f.biTi clump of willow bushes, and she had 
scarcely stopped pounding, when I saw 
Peter’s blue clothes through the bushes, 
coming as fast as he could make his two 
legs cover the ground. He must have been 
near, and hearing her call, hurried along, 
thinking she was in trouble. 

Billy went slowly out to meet him when 
he turned into the yard, and Peter knew 
at once that he was suffering. I saw him 
talking to Sally, but so low that I could 
not tell what he was saying, though she 
was not afraid to speak, for I heard her 
say: 

Well he’s a wicked man, I tell you! 
and if we don’t adopt his whole family, 
he’ll kill every one of them.” 

Well, well, Sally, we shall see what 
can be done for the little ones,” was 
Peter’s slow reply, as calling Billy to him, 
he stooped over and cut the collar from 
his neck, with a pocket knife: 

That was the first thing ter do, Sally,” 
he said, as he picked up the heavy strap 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


287 


of leather, that had been locked on Billy’s 
neck ever since I could remember. 

Poor boy, yer’U feel better now,— but 
Sally, what is this? ” 

He was holding the collar to the light 
while he and Aunt SaUy were studying 
some black letters which I could see were 
printed on the inside of it. And then in 
a voice that quivered with excitement I 
heard him speak Uncle Toby’s name, and 
something about Helendale and Wiscon- 
sin. 

It was hard to tell who looked the hap- 
pier when they had made out the letters. 
Aunt Sally or Peter. They both wiped 
their eyes while they laughed, and Sally 
hugged Betty, while Peter took Billy into 
the house to bathe his bleeding neck. 

After this, Peter came and led me away 
into the sunny little barn-yard, and shut 
the bars while he went to get me a pail 
of water. Nearly all that afternoon I 
could see Peter and Sally, sitting on the 
back door-steps, with their heads close 
together, and bending over a piece of 


288 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


white paper on his knee. When he went 
away, toward night, I heard him call back 
to her cheerfully: 

“We shall hear pretty soon, SaUy, don’t 
yer worry.” 


CHAPTER XXVn 


I did not see Peter again till the night 
had come and gone several times, though 
I am sure that Aunt Sally went across 
the field to his house every day. Always 
when she came back, she stopped at the 
fence to pat my face or whisper a loving 
word in my ear. Her cheeks were very 
red, and there was something hurried and 
excited about her, which was quite unlike 
Aunt Sally. Peter had taken Billy home 
to care for his poor sick neck, and I was 
kept in the yard, so that we were all safe 
from Dick now. The dread of my past 
life was going away from me, for I was 
out under the sky, and kindness was all 
about me— and there was plenty to eat 
and drink! 

While I stood here in the little barn- 
yard, I could see plainly all that went on 

289 


290 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


in Aunt Sally’s back door-yard. And 
every time Betty came out to play, I 
spoke to her in the old way, because I 
could not help it! At first she did not 
notice me, but after a little she began to 
lean over the fence and hold out her hand 
to me; and one morning when I laid my 
head on her shoulder, she laughed so 
happily that I thought she knew me— 
though her eyes were not quite like 
Betty’s yet. 

At last there came a cold cold night, 
when I was very thankful for the shelter 
of the shed, and the snug straw bed which 
Aunt Sally made for me. When morning 
came, it brought her with it, to open the 
door, and let me out into a world of glit- 
tering frost. The air was clear and cool, 
and if I had not been lame I should have 
galloped over the yard till I was tired. 
Everybody seemed to feel good that day, 
for Aunt Sally was fiying around, and 
Betty was out trying to scrape the white 
off the grass with her little hands, before 
the sun drank it all up. 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


291 


I was watching her play close by me, 
when I heard some one calling, and look- 
ing up, I caught sight of Peter’s blue suit 
through the willow trees. He was walking 
as fast as he could, calling Aimt Sally, and 
waving something white in his hand, 
high over his head. Before he turned into 
the yard she was at the door, and I heard 
him say: They are cornin’, Sally, cornin’ 
on the mornin’ stage! The good Lord 
grant we hain’t made no mistake.” 

I shall never live long enough to forget 
what followed. Peter flew around for a 
while helping Aunt Sally, and then I saw 
him go away and heard him say to her: 

I shall tell him they are cornin’, be- 
cause if they want the little horse, I 
believe he belongs to Dick, and they must 
pay for him. It’s only right they should.’^ 
He was not gone long, and when he 
came back I saw that a great change had 
come over him. He walked more slowly, 
and the big gun on his shoulders seemed 
too heavy a load for him to haul. 

When the sun was high overhead. Aunt 


292 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


Sally came out to feed me, and I never 
saw her look quite as she did then. She 
fluttered around more like a little bird than 
ever, her colours were brighter, and I 
am sure there were more feathers in her 
topknot than usual. 

Aunt Sally’s house was away from the 
main road, over which we had passed 
when we came from Rockland, so that 
very few horses went by her door. But 
while she was feeding me, I heard the 
rumbling of wheels, and a huge, yellow 
wagon that looked like a circus team 
drove into the yard. It went so close 
to the front door, that I could not see 
what happened, but I knew it was some- 
thing wonderful, because Aunt Sally gave 
a little peep of joy, and ran to meet her 
visitors. Then I saw the great coach 
drive away, and everybody seemed to for- 
get me, till I grew tired of nothing to do, 
and laid down in one corner of the yard. 

I must have fallen asleep, and dreamed 
that I was back again at Helendale. I 
thought I heard my old master calling 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


293 


to me, and I answered him in my sleep, 
so loudly that it awoke me, and I stag- 
gered to my feet. Just then I became 
conscious that some one was leaning over 
the fence, and when I opened my eyes 
they looked straight into the happy, lov- 
ing face of Uncle Toby. His fine, tall 
form, was bent to hold Betty on to the top 
rail of the fence, and she was looking 
up at him, with eyes that could see — and 
I knew our own little girl had come back 
again. I thought I was still dreaming, 
but when he spoke my name and said: 

Jinks, you brave old soldier, I’m glad to 
see you once again! ” I knew it was 
really my dear master, come to claim me 
at last. 

Then all the years of suffering roUed 
away from my mind, leaving but one de- 
sire, and that was to show him how glad 
I was to see him. His voice was stirring 
old memories in me, and when I saw 
Peter and Sally coming toward the barn- 
yard, I trotted forward to the bars, and 
standing on my hind legs, held out a hand 


294 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


for Uncle Toby to shake. Then I went 
through every one of my tricks, as I used 
to do, in the days when he was so proud 
of me. Of course I was stiff and lame, 
and when my tail got under my heels, 
it nearly tipped me over; but he under- 
stood that my efforts were all for him, 
and he came to me — and when he raised 
his face from my neck where it had 
rested, I saw him wiping his eyes, with 
the same white cloth he had used when he 
said good-bye to me at Helendale. 

I thought a strange woman was walk- 
ing across the yard with Peter and Aunt 
Sally, but as she drew near, I knew that 
she was Betty’s mother. I heard Uncle 
Toby tell Peter that she was with him 
at Helendale, when his letter came, and 
that they started east at once. He said 
too, that he thought the only thing which 
made Betty remember, was the sound of 
her mother’s voice. They were all stand- 
ing around me, and everybody acted so 
happy, that it seemed good to see them, 
when I heard a sharp, quick bark, at the 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


295 


other side of the fence, and Billy bounded 
around the comer, landing against Uncle 
Toby’s back so hard that they both fell 
over, and rolled in the grass. Such a 
shout of laughter as went up, and they 
all began petting him, and were so glad 
to see him! But when they noticed the 
scars on his neck, and asked about them, 
Peter looked very sad. He bowed his 
head, and stood close to Uncle Toby with 
his hat in his hand, and I heard him say: 

I intended ter take yer ter see Dick 
this mornin’, and let yer settle with him 
yerself. But I have jest come from his 
camp, where I left him — asleep. When 
the bugle calls ter wake him up, he will 
have jined the ranks of a better General 
than any he ever served before! ” 

Then they all turned and walked away 
very slowly, all saving Aunt SaUy, who 
lingered to feed me a doughnut which 
she pulled out of her pocket. Peter 
brought these to me fer the company,” 
she said, but you can have my share, 
Cappie, yer company too! ” 


296 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


When she turned to go into the house, 
the sun looked down to say good-night, 
and spread a red beam across her face, 
just to hght up the tender smile she was 
leaving with me. And the gentlest, sweet- 
est voice that ever spoke to me, whis- 
pered then: “You will remember her 
as long as you hve. Cap, just as you see 
her now.” 

It was hard to say good-bye to Peter 
and Aunt Sally, but it is all over, for I 
am home again, home at Helendale! 

I am standing on the big hill under the 
willow, and the wind is blowing my mane 
over my face, and making little ripples 
in the blue river. There is a flock of red 
leaves flying above the water, where every 
now and then one lights to rest, and is 
carried off down the stream out of my 
sight. Betty and Bimtie are climbing 
the banking with their arms full of these 
beautiful red leaves. As I watch them 
coming, and listen to their merry voices, 
my past suffering seems a dream; and I 


CAPTAIN JINKS 


297 


wonder which is true,— the hungry days 
and cruel blows, or the loving friends and 
clover blossoms of my life? But Razzle 
says she still believes there is a heaven 
for horses, and perhaps when I get there, 
I shall learn the truth from the dream. 

The creek is full I am sure, for I hear 
its waters singing in the sunshine. I shall 
run there now, where I know Razzle is 
waiting for me, with her head over the 
bars, and her eyes closed. She says I 
have been a pretty good pony after all, 
and when she hears me coming, she will 
look up with her great soft eyes, and 
speak to me, for I have not seen her this 
morning, — she was tied up all night. 

But I must say good-bye to you, my big 
and little children, who have read this 
story. Please remember me ever, as a 
pony who has been both good and bad, 
both sad and gay, just like your own dear 
selves. 

The girls are almost here, and there are 
Boo and Billy now! I shall take Boo on 
my back and gallop away with him, and 


298 CAPTAIN JINKS 

Billy will run at my heels. The girls will 
follow us I know, and in five minutes we 
will join Eazzle at the creek, and then we 
shall all be together again — Billy and 
Betty and Buntie and Boo, — Razzle and 
Captain Jinks. 


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“ Singularly enough one of the best books of the year 
for boys is written by a woman and deals with life at West 
Point. The presentment of life in the famous military 
academy whence so many heroes have graduated is realistic 
and enjoyable.” — New York Sun. 

FROM CHEVRONS TO SHOULDER STRAPS 

By Florence Kimball Russel. 

12mo, cloth, illustrated, decorative . . . $1.50 

West Point again forms the backgroimd of a new volume 
in this popidar series, and relates the experience of Jack 
Stirling during his junior and senior years. 

THE SANDMAN: HIS FARM STORIES 

By William J. Hopkins. With fifty illustrations by 
Ada Clendenin Williamson. 

Large 12mo, decorative cover . . . . $1.50 

“ An amusing, original book, written for the benefit of 
very small children. It should be one of the most popular 
of the year’s books for reading to small children.” — 
Buffalo Express. 

THE SANDMAN: MORE FARM STORIES 

By William J. Hopkins. 

Large 12mo, decorative cover, fully illustrated $1.50 
Mr. Hopkins’s first essay at bedtime stories met with 
such approval that this second book of “ Sandman ” tales 
was issued for scores of eager children. Life on the farm, 
and out-of-doors, is portrayed in his inimitable m ann er. 

THE SANDMAN: HIS SHIP STORIES 

By William J. Hopkins, author of “ The Sandman: 
His Farm Stories,” etc. 

Large 12mo, decorative cover, fully illustrated $1.50 
Children call for these stories over and over again.” — 
Chicago Evening Post. 

A — 6 


BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE 


THE SANDMAN, HIS SEA STORIES 

By William J. Hopkins. x . j ,, cn 

Large 12mo, decorative cover, fully illustrated $1.50 
Each year adds to the popularity of this unique series 
of stories to be read to the little ones at bed time and at 
other times. 

THE DOCTOR’S LITTLE GIRL 

By Marion Ames Taggart, author of Pussy-Cat 
Town,” etc. 

One voL, library 12mo, illustrated . . . $1.50 

A thoroughly enjoyable tale of a little girl^and her corn- 
rade father, written in a delightful vein of sympathetic 
comprehension of the child’s point of view. 

SWEET NANCY 

The Further Adventures of the Doctor’s Little 
Girl. By Marion Ames Taggart. 

One vol., library, 12mo, illustrated . . . S1.50 

In the new book, the author tells how Nancy becomes 
in fact “ the doctor’s assistant,” and^continues to shed 
happiness around her. 

THE CHRISTMAS-MAKERS’ CLUB 

By Edith A. Sawyer. 

12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated . • • 

A delightful story for girls, full of the real spmt of 
Christmas. It abounds in merrymakmg and the right 
kind of fun. 


By Frances 


CARLOTA 

A Story of the San Gabriel Mission. 

^qif^el.2mo, cloth decorative, illustrated and decorated 
in colors by Ethelind Ridgway 

“ It is a pleasure to recommend this little sto^ as ^ 
entertaining contribution to juvenile literature, —me 
New York Sun. 

THE SEVEN CHRISTMAS CANDLES 

By Frances Margaret Fox. ^ 

Square 12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated and dec^ 
rated in colors by Ethelind Ridgway . • 

Miss Fox’s new book deals with the fortunes of the de- 
lightful Mulvaney children. 

A — 7 


L. C. PAGE ^ COMPANY'S 


PUSSY-CAT TOWN 

By Marion Ames Taggart. 

Small quarto, cloth decorative, illustrated and deco- 
rated in colors $1.00 

“ Anything more interesting than the doings of the cats 
in this story, their humor, their wisdom, their patriotism, 
would be hard to imagine.” — Chicago Post. 

THE ROSES OF SAINT ELIZABETH 

By Jane Scott Woodruff. 

Small quarto, cloth decorative, illustrated and decorated 
in colors by Adelaide Everhart . . . . $1.00 

This is a charming little story of a child whose father was 
caretaker of the great castle of the Wartburg, where Saint 
Elizabeth once had her home. 

GABRIEL AND THE HOUR BOOK 

By Evaleen Stein. 

Small quarto, cloth decorative, illustrated and deco- 
rated in colors by Adelaide Everhart . . . $1.00 

Gabriel was a loving, patient, little French lad, who 
assisted the monks in the long ago days, when all the books 
were written and illuminated by hand, in the monasteries. 

THE ENCHANTED AUTOMOBILE 

Translated from the French by Mary J. Safford 
Small quarto, cloth decorative, illustrated and deco- 
rated in colors by Edna M. Sawyer . . $1.00 

“ An up-to-date French fairy-tale which fairly radiates 
the spirit of the hour, — unceasing diligence.” — Chicago 
Record-Herald. 

0-HEART-SAN 

The Story of a Japanese Girl. By Helen Eggles- 
ton Haskell. 

Small quarto, cloth decorative, illustrated and deco- 
rated in colors by Frank P. Fairbanks . . $1.00 

“The story comes straight from the heart of Japan. 
The shadow of Fujiyama lies across it and from every 
page breathes the fragrance of tea leaves, cherry blossoms 
and chrysanthemums.” — The Chicago Inter-Ocean. 

A — 8 


BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE 


THE YOUNG SECTION-HAND : Or, The Adven- 
tures OF Allan West. [By Burton E. Stevenson. 
Square 12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated . $1.50 

Mr. Stevenson’s hero is a manly lad of sixteen, who is 
given a chance as a section-hand on a big Western rail- 
road, and whose experiences are as real as they are thrilling. 

THE YOUNG TRAIN DISPATCHER. By Bur- 
ton E. Stevenson. 

Square 12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated . $1.50 

“ A better book for boys has never left an American 
press.” — Springfield Union. 

THE YOUNG TRAIN MASTER. By Burton E. 

Stevenson. 

Square 12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated . $1.50 
“ Nothing better in the way of a book of adventure for 
boys in which the actualities of life are set forth in a practi- 
cal way could be devised or written.” — Boston Herald. 

CAPTAIN JACK LORIMER. By Winn Standish. 
Square 12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated . $1.50 

Jack is a fine example of the all-around American high- 
school boy. 

JACK LORIMER’S CHAMPIONS: Or, Sports on 
Land and Lake. By Winn Standish. 

Square 12mo, cloth decorative, illustrated . $1.50 

“ It is exactly the sort of book to give a boy interested 
in athletics, for it shows him what it means to always 
‘ play fair.’ ” — Chicago Tribune. 

JACK LORIMER’S HOLIDAYS: Or, Millvalb 

High in Camp. By Winn Standish. 

Illustrated 

Full of just the kind of fun, sports and adventure to 
excite the healthy minded youngster to emulation. 

JACK LORIMER’S SUBSTITUTE : Or, The Act- 
ing Captain of the Team. By Winn Standish. 

Xll\istr3/t0ci ,•••••*’ 

On the sporting side, this book takes up football, wres- 
tling, tobogganing, but it is more of a school story perhaps 
than any of its predecessors. 

— 9 


Z. C. PAGE <2r» COMPANY'S 


CAPTAIN JINKS; The Autobiography of a Shet- 
land Pony. By Frances Hodges White. 

Cloth decorative, illustrated . . . . $1.50 

The story of Captain Jinks and his faithful dog friend 
their quaint conversations and their exciting 
adventures, will be eagerly read by thousands of boys and 
girls. The story is beautifully written and will take its 
place alongside of “ Black Beauty ’’ and “ Beautiful Joe.’' 

THE RED FEATHERS. By Theodore Roberts. 
poth decorative, illustrated . . . . $1.50 

The Red Feathers ’’ tells of the remarkable adventures 
of an Indian boy who lived in the Stone Age, many years 
ago, when the world was young. 

FLYING PLOVER, By Theodore Roberts. 

Cloth decorative. lUustrated by Charles Livingston 
■t>ml $1 00 

Squat-By-The-Fire is a very old and wise Indian who 
lives a one with her grandson, “ Flying Plover,” to whom 
she tells the stories each evening. 

THE WRECK OF THE OCEAH QUEEN. By 

Jam^ Otis, a.uthqr of “ Larry Hudson’s Ambition,” etc. 
Cloth decorative, illustrated .... $1.50 

‘‘A stirring story of wreck and mutiny, which boys will 
find especially absorbing. The many young admirers of 
James Otis will not let this book escape them, for it fully 
equals its many predecessors in excitement and sustained 
interest.” — Chicago Evening Post. 


LITTLE WHITE INDIANS. By Fannie E. Os- 
trander. 

Cloth decorative, illustrated . . . $1.25 

“ A bright, interesting story which will appeal strongly 
to the ‘ make-believe ’ instinct in children, and wiU 
give them a healthy, active interest in ‘the simple life.”' 

MARCHING WITH MORGAN. How Donald 
Lovell Became a Soldier op the Revolution. 
By John L. Veasy. 

Cloth decorative, illustrated . . . . $1.50 

This is a splendid boy’s story of the exjiedition of 
Montgomery and Arnold against Quebec. 

A— 10 


BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE 


COSY CORNER SERIES 

It is the intention of the publishers that this series shall 
contain only the very highest and purest literature, — 
stories that shall not only appeal to the children the^ 
selves, but be appreciated by all those who feel witn 
them in their joys and sorrows. ,, 

The numerous illustrations in each book are by well- 
known artists, and each volume has a separate attract- 
ive cover design. 

Each 1 vol., 16mo, cloth 


By ANNIE FELLOWS JOHNSTON 

THE LITTLE COLONEL (Trade Mark.) 

The scene of this story is laid in Kentucky. Its hero- 
ine is a small girl, who is known as the Little Colonel, 
on account of her fancied resemblance to an old-school 
Southern gentleman, whose fine estate and old family 
are famous in the region. 


THE GIANT SCISSORS 

This is the story of Joyce and of her adventures in 
France. Joyce is a great friend of the Little Colonel, 
and in later volumes shares with her the delightful ex- 
periences of the “ House Party ” and the “ Holidays.** 

TWO LITTLE KNIGHTS OF KENTUCKY 

Who Were the Little Colonel’s Neighbors. 

In this volume the Little Colonel returns to us like an 
old friend, but with added grace and charm. She is not, 
however, the central figure of the story, that place bemg 
taken by the “ two little knights.** 


MILDRED’S INHERITANCE ^ 

A delightful little story of a lonely English girl who 
comes to America and is befriended by a sympathetic 
American family who are attracted by her ^autiful 
sneaking voice. By means of this one gift she is en- 
abled to help a school-girl who has temporarily lo^ the 

use of her eyes, and thus finally her life becomes a busy. 


happy one. 

A-11 


L. C. PAGE &> COMPANY* S 


By ANNIE FELLOWS JOHNSTON {Continued) 

CICELY AND OTHER STORIES FOR GIRLS 

The readers of Mrs. Johnston’s charming juveniles 
will be glad to learn of the issue of this volume for young 
people. 

AUNT ’LIZA’S HERO AND OTHER STORIES 

A collection of six bright little stories, which will appeal 
to all boys and most girls. 

BIG BROTHER 

A story of two boys. The devotion and care of Stephen, 
himself a small boy, for his baby brother, is the theme of 
the simple tale. 

OLE MAMMY’S TORMENT 

“ Ole Mammy’s Torment ” has been fitly called “ a 
classic of Southern life.” It relates the haps and mis- 
haps of a small negro lad, and tells how he was led by 
love and kindness to a knowledge of the right. 

THE STORY OF DAGO 

In this story Mrs. Johnston relates the story of Dago, 
a pet monkey, owned jointly by two brothers. Dago 
tells his own story, and the account of his haps and mis- 
haps is both interesting and amusing. 

THE QUILT THAT JACK BUILT 

A pleasant little storj^ of a hoy’s labor of love, and how 
it changed the course of his life many years after it was 
accomplished 

FLIP’S ISLANDS OF PROVIDENCE 

A story of a boy’s life battle, his early defeat, and his 
final triumph, well worth the reading. 

A — 12 


BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE 


By EDITH ROBINSON 

A LITTLE PURITAN’S FIRST CHRISTMAS 

A story of Colonial times in Boston, telling how Christ- 
mas was invented by Betty Sewall, a typicd child of the 
Puritans, aided by her brother Sam. 

A LITTLE DAUGHTER OF LIBERTY 

The author introduces this story as follows: 

“ One ride is memorable in the early history of the 
American Revolution, the well-known ride of Paul 
Revere. Equally deserving of commendation is another 
ride, — the ride of Anthony Severn, — which was no less 
historic in its action or memorable in its consequences.’' 

A LOYAL LITTLE MAID 

A delightful and interesting story of Revolutionary 
days, in which the child heroine, Betsey Schuyler, renders 
important services to George Washington. 

A LITTLE PURITAN REBEL 

This is an historical tale of a real girl, during the time 
when the gallant Sir Harry Vane was governor of Massa- 
chusetts. 

A LITTLE PURITAN PIONEER 

The scene of this story is laid in the Puritan settlement 
at Charlestown. 

A LITTLE PURITAN BOUND GIRL 

A story of Boston in Puritan days, which is of great 
interest to youthful readers. 

A LITTLE PURITAN CAVALIER 

The story of a “ Little Puritan Cavalier ” who tried 
with all his boyish enthusiasm to emulate the spirit and 
ideals of the dead Crusaders. 

A PURITAN KNIGHT ERRANT 

The story tells of a young lad in Colonial times who 
endeavored to carry out the high ideals of the knights 
of olden days. 

A— 13 


Z. C, PAGE (Sr» COMPANY'S 


By OUIDA {Louise de la Ramee) 

A DOG OF FLANDERS 

A Christmas Story 

Too well and favorably known to require description. 

THE NURNBERG STOVE 

This beautiful story has never before been published 
at a popular price. 

By FRANCES MARGARET FOX 

THE LITTLE GIANT’S NEIGHBOURS 

A charming nature story of a ‘‘ little giant ” whose 
neighbors were the creatures of the field and garden. 

FARMER BROWN AND THE BIRDS 

A little story which teaches children that the birds are 
man’s best friends. 

BETTY OF OLD MACKINAW 

A charming story of child life. 

BROTHER BILLY 

The story of Betty’s brother, and some further adven- 
tures of Betty herself. 

MOTHER NATURE’S LITTLE ONES 

Curious little sketches describing the early lifetime, or 
“ childhood,” of the little creatures out-of-doors. 

HOW CHRISTMAS CAME TO THE MUL- 
VANEYS 

A bright, lifelike little story of a family of poor children 
with an unlimited capacity for fun and mischief. 

THE COUNTRY CHRISTMAS 

Miss Fox has vividly described the happy surprises that 
made the occasion so memorable to the Mulvaneys, and 
the funny things the children did in their new environ- 
ment. 

A— 14 


BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE 


By MISS MU LOCK 

THE LITTLE LAME PRINCE 

A delightful story of a little boy who has many ad- 
ventures by means of the magic gifts of his fairy god- 
mother. 

ADVENTURES OF A BROWNIE 

The story of a household elf who torments the cook 
and gardener, but is a constant joy and delight to the 
children who love and trust him. 

HIS LITTLE MOTHER 

Miss Mulock’s short stories for children are a constant 
source of delight to them, and “ His Little Mother, in 
this new and attractive dress, will be welcomed by hosts 
of youthful readers. 

LITTLE SUNSHINE’S HOLIDAY 

An attractive story of a summer outing. “ Little Sun- 
shine ” is another of those beautiful child-characters for 
which Miss Mulock is so justly famous. 

By MARSHALL SAUNDERS 

FOR HIS COUNTRY 

A sweet and graceful story of a little boy who loved 
his country; written with that charm which has endeared 
Miss Saunders to hosts of readers. 

NITA, THE STORY OF AN IRISH SETTER 

In this touching little book. Miss Saunders shows how 
dear to her heart are all of God’s dumb creatures. 

ALPATOK, THE STORY OF AN ESKIMO DOG 

Alpatok, an Eskimo dog from the far north, was stolen 
from his master and left to starve in a strange city, but 
was befriended and cared for, until he was able to return 
to his owner. 

A — 15 


L. C. PAGE COMPANY'S 


By WILL ALLEN DROMGOOLE 

THE FARRIER’S DOG AND HIS FELLOW 

This story, written by the gifted young Southern 
woman, will appeal to all that is best in the natures of 
the many admirers of her graceful and piquant style. 

THE FORTUNES OF THE FELLOW 

Those who read and enjoyed the pathos and charm 
of '' The Farrier’s Dog and His Fellow ” will welcome 
the further account of the adventures of Baydaw and 
the Fellow at the home of the kindly smith. 

THE BEST OF FRIENDS 

This continues the experiences of the Farrier’s dog 
and his Fellow, written in Mr. Dromgoole’s well-known 
charming style. 

DOWN IN DIXIE 

A fascinating story for boys and girls, of a family of 
Alabama children who move to Florida and grow up in 
the South. 


By MARIAN W. WILDMAN 

LOYALTY ISLAND 

An account of the adventures of four children and 
their pet dog on an island, and how they cleared their 
brother from the suspicion of dishonesty. 


THEODORE AND THEODORA 

This is a story of the exploits and mishaps of two mis- 
chievous twins, and continues the adventures of the 
interesting group of children in “ Loyalty Island.” 

A— 16 




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